


Broken Bones

by rosetico



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Courtroom Drama, Drama, Hospitals, Hurt Yuri Plisetsky, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Manipulation, Minor Character Death, Misunderstandings, More tags to be added, Mystery, Non-Graphic Violence, Psychological Trauma, hurt otabek altin, i love angst so, im such an angst monster....
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-13
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 06:36:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 24
Words: 19,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8834182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosetico/pseuds/rosetico
Summary: Some Russians have an issue with the famed "Ice Tiger of Russia" being with a lowly Kazakh like him. OROtabek and Yuri were in Russia. Some guys jump them. Things get more complicated from there, and not everything is as it seems....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first YOI fic, so, first a few notes:
> 
> -I haven’t watched ep. 10 bc I don’t have premium Crunchyroll, so I have to wait until December 14th, so forgive if my characterization of Otabek is wrong.  
> -Kazakhs and Russians have a history of hating each other, even though they’re mostly friendly towards each other today.  
> -Yuri Plisetsky is Yuri and Yuuri Katsuki is Yuuri.  
> -Just suppose that there was a skating tournament or something? That’s why other skaters appear?  
> -Also suppose that Otabek has met Yuuri and Victor...
> 
> Please read the tags! I chose not to use archive warning as most things are not explicit but implied... Enjoy.

Yuri and Otabek were happy. They probably shouldn't have been out so late, not in that area at least. But god, they were happy. So they stayed and talked for hours on end. Catching up on missed moments with each other. Making up for lost time. The streets were empty by the time they left the restaurant. They should’ve taken the subway, but they were happy. And people who are happy are fools.

Yuri and Otabek were walking down the sidewalk, Otabek's arm slung around the smaller ice-skater. He looked down fondly at the younger boy. Otabek said something, causing Yuri to laugh. The watching eyes went unnoticed by the happy couple.

“Look at them,” Someone sneered. “Disgusting. What's _he_ doing with _him_?”

Yuri's temper began to flare, and he began to push himself away from Otabek so he could go over there and give them a piece of his mind.

“Its okay.” Otabek said. “I’ve been called worse.” Yuri frowned, his face scrunching up.

They turned left. Taking a shortcut to Yuri’s apartment. The alleyway was mostly empty, save for a lone man, who was leaning against the wall and smoking a cigarette. As they approached him, he stepped in front of them.

He dropped the cigarette he was holding and stepped on it. His foot ground the ashes onto the pavement.

“Hey.” He said, his voice raspy. “What's a pretty boy like you doing with a guy like him? He sneered. There was some unkind intent hidden within his eyes.

“Fuck off.” Yuri snarled. The guy grinned, all teeth. He clicked his tongue disapprovingly and stepped closer to them. Otabek stepped forward, releasing Yuri and putting himself between the two.

“Look, we don’t want any trouble. Just let us pass through.” Otabek said evenly.

“Sorry. I can’t do that.” The man flicked open a switch blade. Otabek backed away from him, only to run into another guy, who was a had a lot more muscle than the previous ones.

Buff-guy grinned and cracked his knuckles. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of your little boyfriend over there while we have a little chat.”

Otabek glanced back towards where Yuri had been standing, only to see that he was pinned against a third man who had a blade against his neck. The man pulled his hair harshly, exposing his neck even more. Something inside Otabek stirred, urging him to act.

He swung at the buff guy. Big mistake. Immediately both men pounced on him, not holding back any longer. Punches and kicks rained down on him. Dimly in the background he could hear Yuri yelling his name. He reached in the direction where Yuri was, only to have one of them kick his head, causing stars to explode before his eyes. His world spun, as he weakly tried to crawl away from his attackers.

He curled up hoping to minimize any damage done. Otabek prayed that Yuri would be okay. Cautiously, he glanced to where the man holding Yuri had been.

... Except they weren’t there anymore. Alarmed, Otabek searched between the legs of his attackers to see where they could of possibly gone. He was quick enough to catch sight of the man dragging Yuri around the corner.

The thought of what could happen fueled him as he lashed out grabbing one of the men’s feet. He fell down, momentarily stunned, and giving Otabek the opportunity he needed to stand. He quickly stood, and raised his arms, still wary of the smaller man who held the switchblade. All three men were wary, and ready to fight. Otabek threw the first punch.


	2. Chapter 2

"Otabek!" Yuri shouted as the two men began beating him up. Yuri struggled to get away from the man who was holding him. The man leaned in close behind him. Yuri could feel his warm breath on his neck.

“Don’t struggle pretty. This’ll just make it harder.”

Yuri growled and bit his hand. The man yelped and released him. “You little piece of shit.” He growled. He backhanded him. The sheer force knocked Yuri to the ground. Dazed, the man easily dragged Yuri around the corner and into some building. He pinned him against the wall, holding both wrists with his hands. Yuri struggled underneath him. The man grinded against him.

“I’m gonna show you what its like to be with a real man.” He whispered, licking a long stripe on Yuri’s neck. Yuri shuddered and tried to shrink away from him.

“Get the fuck away from me, you sick fuck.”

“Don’t worry baby.” He purred, ignoring what Yuri said. “It’ll feel good.” The man reached down to unzip his fly. The second he let go, Yuri threw a sloppy punch at the man. The man reacted surprisingly fast and caught Yuri’s hand before it could reach him. Yuri froze.

“You’re gonna regret that.” He said. He threw Yuri down forcefully and climbed on top of him, pinning him to the floor. “Good thing I like them tough.”

Yuri blinked rapidly, unable to comprehend the situation, tears falling out of his eyes. His head lolled to the ground, all the fight fleeing him. The man pushed him down. He spread Yuri’s limp legs open and.... and—


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's one Russian word which I got from Google Translate, forgive if it's not accurate.

Otabek stumbled down the alleyway and around the corner. The man and Yuri were nowhere to be seen. They could’ve gone anywhere. Otabek sighed, and leaned against the wall. He pulled out his phone and texted everyone that was within the country. It was late, but he hoped that at least someone would answer. He needed as many people to help him search. _Help. It’s urgent._ He typed, and added his location.

It was Yuuri who replied first.

 

**Yuuri:** _Are you okay?_

**Otabek:** _No. Meet me._

 

There was a pause. Then:

 

 **Yuuri:** _Okay. We’re on our way._

 

Otabek breathed. He tenderly poked his wounds. He’d probably have a couple nasty bruises and maybe a fractured rib or two, but it shouldn’t be too bad.

“Otabek!” Someone yelled. He turned to see Victor and Yuuri running towards him.

“Are you—“ Yuuri halted midsentence, taking in his appearance. Yuuri paled.

“What happened?” Victor asked.

“Some guys...” Otabek coughed, hacking up a wad of blood and spitting it out. A little blood dripped off his lower lip. “They just attacked us—I mean me,” he corrected.

“Us?” Yuuri said.

“Yuri was with me.”

Yuuri looked alarmed. “Where is he now?”

Otabek grimaced. “I don’t know. One of the guys... He dragged Yuri away and I didn’t see where they went.”

Yuuri and Victor shared a look.

Victor placed a placating hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll help you look. I’m sure he’ll be fine, right Yuuri?”

“Huh?! Uh. Yeah. Right.”

Victor and Yuuri droned on, obviously trying to reassure him.

“Блядь!” Otabek shouted, slamming his fist against the wall. “They could be anywhere by now.”

“Anywhere.” He repeated, quieter. Victor and Yuuri were quiet, surprised by the outburst of the normally calm man.

Victor faced Otabek. “We’ll find them. But first, you need to go to the hospital.” Otabek sighed.

“I’ll go look for Yurio while Yuuri will take you to the hospital, okay?” Victor said. Otabek nodded, drained. Yuuri carefully lead him down the alleyway and onto the main sidewalk. Victor turned away from them, determined to find the fifteen-year-old before something that was beyond his control happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Блядь: "fuck."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is... the chapter where most of the drama goes down. I was pretty happy with it, so I hope you enjoy!

Yuri lay on the floor, shivering. The man had gotten off of him, but he hadn’t moved. He was just so cold... And tired... Footsteps approached him. A cold hand brushed his hair out of his face. A tear streaked down his wet face.

The man shushed him. “Don’t cry, baby.” He pulled Yuri onto his lap, stroking his hair. “It’ll be okay.”

The man leaned in above him. He placed a gentle kiss on Yuri’s face. Silent tears fell from Yuri’s eyes. The man smiled benignly, his eyes betraying his intentions.

“Can’t have you telling on me now, can I?” He said. He caressed Yuri’s jawline. Yuri shuddered at the touch. He just wanted him to stop... Stop touching him... To stop—

The man hummed. He pulled out a rather long knife, one that probably was not legal to carry around. He used the knife to push Yuri’s hair around.

“P-please...” Yuri whispered.

“Hm?” The man perked up. He seemed surprised that Yuri had spoken.

“Don’t.” Yuri weakly grasped his wrist, some final resistance still left in him. The man tilted his head, amused.

“Don’t what?” He asked. Yuri opened his mouth to reply, but someone started banging on the door.

“Yuriii!” They shouted. “Are you in there?”

Yuri and the man stood still, neither moving. Swiftly, the man hauled him up, knife pressing into his back. Yuri strained to place the voice... It sounded so—

The door handle jiggled. The pounding stopped. Silence flooded the building. Then the door fell down. It was quite dramatic. Soft light spilled onto the floor as a tall figure stepped inside.

“Yuri?” They called cautiously, looking both ways. They turned, and suddenly they saw them. Yuri couldn’t make out who it was, his eyesight blurring.

“Sorry, love.” The man breathed. “I’ve got to run now.”

A stab of pain shot through his back, and he arched away from the source. Yuri’s body tensed. A sharp inhale. The man behind him must have let him go, as suddenly he was drifting and—

“Stop!” Someone yelled. Footsteps simultaneously ran away from him and towards him. Something cold and hard jerked him out of his hazy vision. Then... Something warm cradled him, not unlike the man before.

“Yuri!” They said. Alarmed. “Can you hear me?”

Something warm ran down the corner of his mouth and dripped onto the floor. The quiet dripping noise filled the silence. A white cloud passed before his sight, overtaking the dark building he was in. And—

 

A warm breath left his body, puffing into steamy white clouds that eventually faded into the dark of the night. A memory passed through his mind, full of laughter and smiles... Faces that he once knew. And a song..... . . .

 

In a second, it passed, as a silt butterfly too quick for stubby fingers to catch.

 

(though if he listened hard enough, he could hear their tune)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for hurting my smol son Yuri so much.. >_< Leave a kudo/comment! <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the notes at the end! It relates to how I continue this...

Yuuri and Otabek were currently at the hospital while Victor searched for Yuri. Yuuri hoped he would be okay. Nobody deserved anything like that to happen to them.

The nurses had already inspected Otabek. They said he should be fine. His ribs were luckily only fractured, not broken. Besides the blossoming bruises on his sides and his face, everything else was in tact. They had already wrapped his ribs and bandaged his cuts and said he was good to go, but Otabek and Yuuri still sat in the waiting area of the hospital.

Yuuri occasionally checked his phone for updates from Victor. He had texted him five minutes ago, saying he was checking all the buildings in the nearby vicinity and that he would keep him updated. So far, he’s had no luck. Yuuri texted him.

 

 **Yuuri:** _Any luck?_

 

Victor didn’t respond. Yuuri was about to get even more worried than he already was (which would be an extraordinary feat), when the hospital doors slammed open, several paramedics surrounding a bed that was wheeled in. They were all shouting all sorts of medical jargon, throwing words around like “shock” and “blood loss.” As quick as they came in, they were gone. Yuuri was unfortunately unable to get a good look at who was on the bed, and resolved himself to not knowing.

A few seconds later, Victor walked in, an orange blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

“Victor!” Yuuri cried. He stood up and hugged him. Yuuri touched the blanket. “What’s this?”

“Huh?” Victor said. “It’s a shock blanket.”

“A shock blanket? What for?” Yuuri asked.

Victor sighed. “I found Yuri.” Otabek’s head turned around so fast, Yuuri thought he would give himself whiplash.

“You did?!” Otabek stood up and crossed to where Victor stood. Otabek grabbed Victor by the shoulders. Otabek opened his mouth, looking pained, but said nothing.

Victor carefully brushed Otabek’s hands off. “He... The man... I...” Victor fumbled over his words. He inhaled deeply. “The man stabbed Yuri and ran.”

Otabek paled. “Will he be okay?”

Victor shrugged. “You should’ve seen them when they came in, no?” He paused, and then added; “Oh, and I told them that I was his dad so that they would let me ride in the ambulance with him.”

Yuuri remembered the flurry of activity that had passed through here a few moments ago. “We did. See them, I mean. Well, you couldn’t really see that it was Yuri but...” Yuuri trailed off awkwardly.

Victor placed a comforting hand on Otabek’s shoulder. “I’m sure that he’ll be okay. He’s tough.” Otabek didn’t meet his eyes, and walked over to the seats to sit down again. Yuuri and Victor joined him on the bench, and all three waited for news.

Only a few minutes had passed when a nurse came out.

“Family of Yuri Plisetsky?” She said. Victor stood up.

“Here.”

The nurse approached them, a clipboard in hand.

“How is he?” Victor inquired.

“He’s in surgery now. The knife clipped an artery and just brushed against one of his lungs. He’s lost a lot of blood, and required an emergency blood transfusion in the ambulance. He’ll probably be put on ventilation after surgery is done, and won’t be able wake up immediately afterwards.” She said plainly.

“What do you mean?” Otabek asked.  
“He’s been through a lot, and his body and mind needs time to heal. We’ll keep him sedated just for a couple days to let this happen.” She turned to Victor. “May I talk to you privately?”

Victor nodded. She led him a couple feet away from Otabek and Yuuri.

“Before surgery, we did a preliminary check for rape because of the situation that you had described.”

“And?”

She looked grim. “I’m sorry, but there were signs of forced intrusion and some bruising around the area.”

Victor released a choked sob. The nurse gently comforted him. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I know it’s tough, hearing that about a family member.” She paused, and then left.

Victor returned to Otabek and Yuuri with a heavy heart. How was he to tell them?

“What did she say?” Otabek demanded. Victor said nothing.

“Victor?” Yuuri said, kinder. “What did she say?”

“It was a-about Yuri.” He said. “She said there were signs of—“

“No.” Otabek said, his face unreadable. “No. No. No. No. No.” He stood up suddenly and stormed out of the waiting room. The doors slammed behind him, as he disappeared into the cold night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have two options... I can go with simple angsty h/c, no complicated plot and a shorter story, OR I can have the people who did this have a bigger role in the story, a more complex plot, and a longer story. Which one would you be more interested in?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided to write the longer version (and updated the tags a little)... Hope you enjoy!

Three men sat inside a rather conspicuous looking van. One was holding a long hunting knife stained with blood.

“What the fuck was that?! You weren’t supposed to kill him you глупо ебут!”

The man holding the knife rolled his eyes. “Don’t be like that Alex. Besides, it looks like he’ll live.”

“No thanks to you!” Alex shouted. He exhaled, trying to calm himself.“Besides, Baurzhan only paid us to mess them up a little.”

“And we did,” the man with the knife said calmly. “I just messed up his  _boyfriend_ a little extra.”

“Did you leave any evidence?” The third man grunted. The man with the knife was silent. “Martin.”

“Don’t think I did. Wasn’t like I was exactly _prepared_ for it, Simon.” Martin sneered, and glared at Simon.

Simon laughed quietly and stood. “Then it is time to collect our money and leave. Our part is done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> глупо ебут: "stupid fuck"  
> kinda short, but it doesn't really fit with the rest of the next chapter so... it gets its own chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Yuuri and Victor sat in silence after Otabek’s departure. Otabek was obviously taking it extremely hard, and was probably somewhere blaming himself. There was no sign of the nurse from before and no news on Yuri. It had been an extremely long night with no end in sight.

Several moments later, Yuuri fell asleep, his head resting on Victor’s shoulder. Drool was leaking out of the corner of his mouth. Victor smiled, and reached to wipe it off. The memory of Yuri lying on the floor, with blood coming out the corner of his mouth, flashed inside his mind. Victor sighed and brushed the hair off Yuuri’s forehead. He kissed his forehead lightly, as not to wake him. He was so lucky. Victor didn’t know what he would do if hid Yuuri was in Yuri Plisetsky’s place.

Victor glanced outside, where the sky was pitch black. He wondered how Otabek was doing when his phone vibrated.

 

 **Christophe:** _where are you guys?!_

 **Victor:** _At the hospital_

 **Christophe:** _what???!! why?_

 

Victor hesitated before replying.

 

 **Victor:** _Yuri got into an accident._

**Christophe:** _oh no! tell him i hope he feels better._

**Victor:** _Are you at the hotel?_

**Christophe:** _yeah_

**Victor:** _Is Otabek there?_

**Christophe:** _don’t think so. last time i saw him was when he headed out ... which was several hours ago._

**Christophe:** _why are you asking?_

 

Victor was about to reply, when the nurse came out.

“Family of Yuri Plisetsky?” She said. Victor looked up. He ignored his phone and stuffed it in his pocket. Victor gently moved Yuuri over and stood as she said, “Yuri’s out of surgery. You can see him now.”

oo0o0oo

Otabek didn’t go far from the hospital. He kept his phone on, in case Victor or Yuuri texted him with something important. But ever after Victor revealed what that man had done...

Otabek couldn’t get his mind to stop racing.

Maybe if he had fought back harder, it wouldn’t have happened. Maybe if he had realised the danger they were in sooner, it wouldn’t have happened.

Maybe if they had just gone home earlier like Victor had suggested this would’ve never happened.

Otabek sighed, the cold air refreshing him. All he could do now was wait for Yuri to wake up and to be there when he did. His phone vibrated.

 

 **Victor:** _Come back. Yuri is out of surgery._

oo0o0oo

Meanwhile....

 

“You есуастар!”

Martin, Alex, and Simon cowered beneath the tall figure.

“How could you mess up a mission so _simple_?!” They screamed.

Alex whimpered. “We’re sorry, sir! But please—“

“Please what?!” They roared. The room was silent. They tilted their head. “Actually, I think this works out better than the original plan.” They laughed. “Alex, Simon, leave me.” Alex scurried out of the room, Simon trailing behind. The door clicked shut as they left.  
“Martin.” They said, reclining onto a chair.

“Baurzhan.” Martin repeated lazily.

Baurzhan sneered. “You are to respect me.”

“Why? ‘Cause you’re the guy on the throne?”

Baurzhan smiled. “Precisely... See, even a low life like you can understand.”

Martin opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say anything Baurzhan whipped out a gun and shot him in the head. Blood slowly trickled down his forehead. His body slumped and fell to the floor. Baurzhan’s shoes noisily clicked against the floor as he walked towards the body.

He peered at Martin’s corpse. “A pity,” he said before walking away, leaving Martin’s body behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> есуастар: kazakh for "idiots"


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I updating too often? lol  
> -sidenote: I just watched YOI ep. 10 and my otayuri heart is exploding.

Victor felt tall, standing over Yuri.

Yuri lay pale and unconscious on a hospital bed, several tubes leading from his mouth and into a ventilator. An IV tube ran from his arm. There was something unnerving about the steady quietness that surrounded the teenager.

Victor stared at Yuri. “When will he wake up?”

“We’re currently keeping him sedated, as we don’t want him to wake up before the ventilator comes out. Once he starts breathing on his own we’ll take out the IV.” Victor rubbed his eyes, weariness creeping into him.

The nurse smiled. “Do you want me to wheel a second bed in here?”

Victor hesitated. “Sure.”

“I’ll be right back.” She exited. Victor sank into the plastic chair placed by Yuri’s bed. It was as hard and uncomfortable as the ones in the waiting room. Victor suspected that he’d have several cricks in his back and neck by the time the night was over. He looked outside, the start of a sunrise was just beginning to show, red tinting the black sky. He checked the time on his phone.

It was nearly 5:00.

Victor yawned. He needed to get some sleep. Once Otabek arrives he and Yuuri will probably head back to the hotel and sleep for the whole day.

oo0o0oo

When Otabek arrived back at the hospital, the waiting room was devoid of people except for Yuuri Katsuki, who was sleeping. Victor was nowhere to be seen. Otabek walked over to the reception.

“I’m here to see Yuri Plisetsky.”

“Room 203. Down the hall and to your left,” she said without looking up from her computer.

“Thanks.” Otabek buried his hands into his jacket pockets and turned down the hall. He opened the door to Room 203.

Victor was sitting in the chair by Yuri’s bedside, and a second bed had been placed to the right of Yuri’s bed. Victor looked up as he entered.

“Otabek.” He said, smiling wanly. Dark bags were visible beneath his eyes.

“You and Yuuri should get some sleep.” Otabek said, sitting down on the empty bed.

Victor nodded and slowly stood up. Otabek watched him until he had left the room. Once he was alone, he turned his attention to Yuri.

He looked so small on the bed. Several bunches of wires and tubes ran to and from his body. A ventilator noisily pushed air into his chest. Yuri’s chest rose and fell with the rhythm of the ventilator.

Otabek considered talking to him. He remembered reading once somewhere that it helped coma patients wake up faster or something. Even though Yuri wasn’t in a coma, maybe it would help...

Otabek began quietly, the words coming out barely more than a whisper. “I’m sorry, Yuri.”

oo0o0oo

Detective Max Finche leaned over the newest homicide victim.

“Who’s this?” He asked.

“Martin Pelov. Worked as a mercenary. Must’ve pissed off one of the big fish.” She held up a plastic bag containing a white envelope. “This was left on top of him. It’s addressed to someone.”

Max snatched the bag and examined it. “Who the hell is Otabek?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for your responses and support!  
> -I'm trying to make the chapters longer too.

At some point, Otabek must have fallen asleep. He woke up halfway between Yuri’s bed and the floor. As he rose, he heard several things crack and pop.

He groaned. Skating would be painful.

Otabek hadn’t even thought of the tournament ever since last night. Even though it had technically finished, there was supposed to be a dinner between the skaters tonight. Needless to say, Yuri would not be attending.

Otabek grabbed the remote and turned on the TV that was hanging on the wall. The news was playing.

A newswoman was standing in front of a crime scene. “—mercenary Martin Pelov was found dead earlier today. Here’s Detective Finche with a few words concerning the case.”

The camera panned to whom Otabek assumed was Detective Finche. “There was a letter found on the body, addressed to someone called ‘Otabek.’” Otabek froze. Why would his name be on the letter?

“If you have any news on this person’s whereabouts or are this person, please come to the police station immediately as—“

The door slammed open as Victor barged in. Otabek quickly turned off the TV.

“Good morning Otabek!” He shouted cheerfully.

“Morning...” Otabek muttered.

“How’s Yuri?” Victor marched over to Yuri and inspected him.

Otabek frowned. “He’s the same as he was last night.”

“Hm. I spoke to one of the nurses in the hall, she said that he’s been making good progress.” Victor said. “Oh! Otabek, are you still coming to the dinner?”

Otabek shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe.”

Victor seemed disappointed by his answer. “Okay.” Victor turned to leave. “See you later then!”

Otabek waited for him to leave, before pulling out his phone and googling the address to the police precinct.

oo0o0oo

Leaving the hospital turned out to be a challenge.

Otabek was reluctant to leave Yuri, but the nurses reassured him that he wouldn’t wake up yet. As soon as he left, he was bombarded by paparazzi and reporters alike. Questions were thrown at him from all sides and he could barely interpret what they were all asking.

“Why are you, Victor and Yuuri Katsuki all at the hospital?”

“Is it true that you and Yuri Plisetsky are dating?”

“Where is Yuri Plisetsky?”

“Are the allegations that Yuri Plisetsky was raped true?”

At the last one, Otabek slammed the reporter into the wall. Loud enough so that everyone else could hear, he growled, “No comment.” The reporter gulped. All the other reporters seemed to have got the message, and backed off. Otabek walked through them, ignoring their stares.

oo0o0oo

“Hey, Yuuri!” Phichit waved them over.

Yuuri smiled. “Hey Phichit.”

“Where’s Victor?” He asked.

“He’s coming.” Yuuri sat down.

“Did you read the news?” Phichit asked, holding up his phone.

“The homicide?”

“Not that. About Otabek.” Phichit showed him his phone.

“ ** _Otabek Altin Attacks Reporter Outside of Hospital_** _.”_

_The Kazakh figure skater was said to have left the hospital earlier today, only to be swarmed by masses of reporters trying to get answers. Instead of simply brushing them off, Altin maliciously slammed one into the wall and threatened him. Our source reports that “Altin gave no comment” and “stalked off before anymore questions could be asked.”Altin was also seen entering the hospital with Katsuki Yuuri and Victor Nikoforov last night._

“When was this posted?”  
“Just a few minutes ago.” Phichit said. “It mentions that you were with him, Yuuri. Do you know what happened?”

Yuuri gulped nervously, unsure of what to say. “Uh. It’s really—Uh. Not... You know—“

“Phichit!” Victor butted in, mysteriously appearing and saving Yuuri from having to explain. “It’s nice to see you!” Phichit half-heartedly glared at Yuuri, and mouthed “we’ll talk later” to him while Victor smothered him.

oo0o0oo

Two officers, one male and one female, were having a conversation in front of the front desk of the precinct. Otabek stood there awkwardly, waiting for them to finish.

“It’s not my fault I don’t keep up with ice skating. Do I look like I have time to do that?” The male officer said, and appeared to be Detective Finche.

“He’s kinda hot.” The female officer said.

Otabek coughed. “Excuse me.”

They turned to face him. The female officer’s face lit up.

“You must be Otabek Altin!” She extended a friendly hand. “I’m Detective Linda and this is my partner Finche. You must be here about the letter?”

Otabek nodded. They must be American.

“Follow us.” Finche motioned. They walked over to where Finche’s desk was. Finche held up a photo of Martin Pelov. “Do you know this man?”

Otabek stared at the picture. The blood made his stomach queasy, but he ignored the feeling. There was something familiar about his face that Otabek couldn’t place...

“No.” He said.

Finche scrutinized him. “Are you—“

“Max.” Linda said, cutting him off. She gave him a pointed look.

Finche sighed. “Never mind. Inside the envelope was a phone number.” He handed the piece of paper to Otabek. “Does _this_ ring any bells?”

_495 390 1093_

“No.” Otabek said.

Finche huffed. “Alright. You’re free to go then.”

Otabek moved to leave, when Linda grabbed his arm.

She held up a pad of paper. “Would you mind signing this?”

oo0o0oo

Rather than going back to the hospital, Otabek went to the hotel for the first time since last night. He felt bad about leaving Yuri alone, but there was no point in sitting around there doing nothing.

Otabek pulled out his phone. He stared at the screen. His thumbs hovered in the air, before he typed.

 

_495 390 1093: New Message_

**Otabek:** _Hello?_

 

Otabek waited a few tense minutes. There was no reply. He sighed and put his phone on the bed. He rolled over and contemplated taking a nap when his phone vibrated.

Twice.

Otabek sat up and grabbed his phone.

 

_495 390 1093: New Message_

**???:** _Hello Otabek._

**???:** _Meet me alone at the abandoned church outside of_ _Трестна._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Detective Linda and Finche are supposed to be American...  
> -Martin was the one who raped and stabbed Yuri, but Otabek didn't recognize him as he was a little busy being beaten up...


	10. Chapter 10

Otabek probably should not have followed the instructions sent by the mysterious phone number inside an envelope that was found on top of a dead body.

The church was creepy as fuck, just located outside of a rural area on the outskirts of Moscow. It was several miles away from any civilization. A good place for murder, Otabek idly thought.

Otabek pushed the double doors open, the hinges creaking in protest. “Hello?” He shouted, his voice echoed around the space. Nobody replied. Otabek pulled out his phone.

No signal.

Otabek stuffed his phone back into his pocket, and was about to leave, when—

“Hello, Otabek.” Otabek stiffened. He recognized that voice...

Dress shoes clicked against the floor of the church as somebody entered behind him. “It’s _so_ good to see you again.”

oo0o0oo

Yuuri was worried about Otabek. Nobody had seen him since this afternoon, when Phichit said he saw him leaving the hotel. Victor was at the hospital with Yuri, and had texted him saying that Otabek wasn’t there either. It was worrying that he also wasn’t replying to Yuuri’s texts. Yuuri hoped that Otabek didn’t do anything rash...

Yuuri texted him one more time. Just in case.

 

**Yuuri:** _Where are you??_

 

Otabek didn’t reply. Yuuri sighed and rubbed his eyes. He’d become so stressed recently, especially with what was going on with Yuri—

The door banged open. Yuuri jumped and dropped his phone. Otabek stood in the hallway.

“Yuuri.” He growled. “I’m fine. Stop texting me.”

“O-Otabek.” Yuuri stuttered. He stared at Otabek. “Is that new?”

“What?”  
Yuuri motioned for Otabek to come in. Otabek begrudgingly entered. As he approached Yuuri, Yuuri could see that there were obviously some new bruises. He wanted to ask about them.

“Where did you go?” Yuuri asked instead.  
“To meet an friend.”

Yuuri raised an eyebrow. “A friend?” He said skeptically. “Is that who gave you those bruises?”

Otabek grunted and said nothing.

Yuuri sighed. “Otabek. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s going on.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“Yes you do! You’re obviously hurting, and not just physically.” Yuuri shouted. Otabek turned away from him and Yuuri regretted yelling.

“I’m sorry for yelling, Otabek, but please...” Yuuri trailed off. He tried to think of what might get through to him. Suddenly, Yuuri remembered a nickname he had heard Yurio call him. “Beka?” He tried hesitantly.

Otabek lunged at him and pinned him onto the bed. Yuuri gulped. In any other situation this would’ve been laughable.

“Don’t call me that.”

Immediately Otabek got off Yuuri and was about to storm out when Yuuri called out to him.

“What would Yuri want?”

“Shut up.” Otabek snarled, but didn’t move further towards the door. “It’s my fault he’s in the hospital anyways,” he said quieter.

“Otabek, it’s not—“

“It is!” Otabek’s voice got increasingly louder. “Don’t you see? The attack on us, it was planned!” He paused. “And it’s _my_ fault.”

“How?”  
“The man who hired the men who attacked us, I knew him.” Otabek choked.

“Who was he?”  
“His name is Baurzhan.”

oo0o0oo

Yuri was drifting.

He was encased in something warm and he could faintly hear voices. The last thing he remembered...

Yuri was floating.

It was hard to think. Something fuzzy clouded his mind. He tried to think. What had happened?

Yuri remembered.

The man. He had.... Pain. Someone, someone else was there. Who was it? Yuri couldn’t think straight.

Yuri was choking.

Something... Something was stuck in his throat and he couldn’t breathe. Yuri clawed at his throat, desperate for air and then suddenly—

Everything was loud. Yuri could hear... Machines? And people shouting.

Something sharp pricked his elbow and darkness grappled at the edge of his consciousness. Then—

Someone was calling his name. The voice, the same as before, he could remember the name.

 _Victor_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just realized that most of the drama in this story centers around Yuri even though Yuri himself isn't even awake yet...


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of time changes in this one...  
> Four years ago Otabek would've been about 13 and Baurzhan about 12.

**_Four Years Ago..._ **

“Otabek!” Baurzhan excitedly pulled him over to the side of the rink. “Watch me!” Baurzhan skated over into the middle area of the rink. He took a deep breath, before skating around once, then launching into a quadruple salchow. Otabek held his breath while Baurzhan was in the air. Would he land it? Even Otabek hadn’t landed those, and he was a year older.

Baurzhan landed the jump, coming off cleanly.

Otabek burst into applause. Baurzhan turned to him and smiled. He skated over to where Otabek was watching. “Wasn’t that good?”

“It was great, Baurzhan!” Otabek ruffled his hair affectionately.  
“Hey! Knock it off!” Baurzhan swatted at his hand, before skating away from him. Otabek watched him practice. If even twelve-year-olds could skate better than he could, how would he ever be competitive to skate professionally?

oo0o0oo

**_Present Day..._ **

Yuuri’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen. Victor was calling him. Yuuri bent over to pick it up.

“Hello?” He answered.

“Yuuri!” Victor shouted, sounding overly-excited. “Yurio woke up!”

Yuuri quickly put him on speaker. “Say that again?”  
“Yurio woke up enough that they took the ventilator out and took him off sedatives. They said that he should wake up on his own soon.”

Yuuri smiled and looked up to where Otabek had been. “See? I—“ Yuuri stopped. Otabek was running out of the room.

Yuuri called after his retreating figure. “You left your phone!”

Otabek continued running down the hallway until he was out of sight. Yuuri shrugged and closed the door.

oo0o0oo

Otabek stood over Yuri’s bedside with Victor.

“You said he woke up.” Otabek said, annoyed that Yuri wasn’t actually awake.

“I said that he woke up enough that they took out his ventilator, not that he was awake.” Victor replied.

“It’s a good sign.” The nurse chimed in. “It means that his body is healing and that his mind is preparing to wake up fully.”

“Otabek,” Victor said. “Can I talk to you alone for a second?” Otabek nodded. The nurse left the room.

Victor turned to him, his face serious. “Yuuri said over the phone that you had information regarding the people who did this.”

“I do.” Otabek hesitated. “... But I don’t want to take it to the police.”

A look of surprise crossed Victor’s face. “Why not?”

“The situation is already complicated enough, the police would just make it more complicated.”

“How is it complicated?” Victor asked.

“The man who did this. I knew him.” Otabek grunted. “We were... rivals. Of sorts. Like how Yuuri and Yurio are.”

“He’s a skater?” Victor looked thoughtful. “I haven’t heard of any other Kazakh skaters before.”

“There aren’t that many. Baurzhan, that was his name, was one of the best.” Otabek laughed bitterly. “Considered a ‘child prodigy’ at the time.”

“What happened?”

“He got into an accident.”

oo0o0oo

**_Four Years Ago..._ **

Otabek couldn’t believe that he has lost. To _Baurzhan_ of all people. Even though it was a small competition that held no significance, Otabek couldn’t believe that he had lost.

Baurzhan, who stood beside him holding a gold medal, looked extremely happy. Overtime, Otabek had grown bitter and envious towards the younger skater as even though he was younger, he skated better than Otabek did. He never showed sentiment to Baurzhan, as he still liked and enjoyed their friendship.

“Otabek!” Baurzhan hugged him tightly. “You skated well!”

“You too!” Otabek said, reciprocating the hug half-heartedly. He laughed. “You’re getting so good.”

“I know!” Baurzhan giggled. “One day I’ll be better than you!” Otabek smiled at the comment. You already are, he thought.

“Are you going to the banquet?” Otabek asked.

“Of course!” Baurzhan looked at him. “You are too, right?”

Otabek shook his head. “I’m tired. I think I’ll turn in for the night.”

Baurzhan looked disappointed. “Oh. That’s too bad.” Otabek smiled and pat his shoulder.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.”

Later that night, Otabek received two phone calls that would change his life.

The first was from another Kazakh friend.

“Hey Otabek,” they said. Their words were slurred; Otabek should have considered the fact that they might’ve been drnuk. “Can we borrow your car? It’s dark blue right?”

Otabek agreed, and allowed them to borrow his car for the night.

“Don’t wreck it,” he teased.

The second was from Baurzhan’s coach.  
“Otabek?” He said. “Are you there?”  
“Yeah.”

“It’s Baurzhan. He was just hit by a car.”

“What?!” Otabek sat up, shocked. “Is he okay?”

“He’s alive, but they don’t think he’ll be able to ever skate again. The car ripped into his ligaments or something.”

“Did he see who was driving the car?”

“Baurzhan hasn’t said much, but he said that it was a dark blue car.”

oo0o0oo

**_Present Day..._ **

“After that I sold the car and moved away. I didn’t contact him or anybody from there.”

“But it wasn’t you right?” Victor’s eyes were worried. “It wasn’t actually you driving, right?”

Otabek sighed. “No, but the officials wouldn’t have believed me. My friends, whom I lent the car to, would have betrayed me in order to stay out of jail. At the time I thought I was lucky that Baurzhan didn’t recognize the car... But after all this time, I guess he knew.”

“Knew what?”

“That it was my car.”

“How do you know?”

“He told me.”

oo0o0oo

**_Earlier That Day..._ **

Otabek resisted the urge to whip his head around to see if it was truly whom he thought it was. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“What, no hello?”

Otabek turned around slowly, and made direct eye contact.

“Baurzhan.” He said simply.

Baurzhan smirked confidently and held out his arms. “Want a hug?”

Otabek didn’t move.

Baurzhan sighed and dropped his arms. “Thought so.” He laughed. “You were always the more reserved one of us, Otabek.”

Otabek finally spoke. “What are you doing here?”

“I can’t drop by to say hello to an old _friend_?” The way Baurzhan said “friend” sent shivers down Otabek’s spine.

“We’re not friends.” He said flatly.

“Beka!” Baurzhan dramatically placed a hand over his heart. “I’m wounded.” Baurzhan exhaled. “I’m not surprised though. You haven’t changed one bit.”

Baurzhan quickly strode over to where Otabek stood. Baurzhan took a look at his face, smiled, and then slammed his fist into Otabek’s jaw.

Otabek stumbled, momentarily dazed by the blow. Baurzhan took this opportunity to push him onto the ground. Otabek was forcefully kept there by Baurzhan’s hand on his back.

Baurzhan crouched down until he was level with him. “You see, _Beka_ , you ruined my life. My career. When you plowed over me like—like some sort of _dog_ and didn’t even stop...” Baurzhan stopped himself.

“You took everything from me, Otabek.” Baurzhan gripped Otabek’s face and pulled it close to his. “And I’m going to take everything from yours. ” He released his jaw and stood up, stepping away from him.

“Baurzhan.” Otabek said. “You don’t have to do this. It wasn’t me driving that car.”

Baurzhan glared at him. “Of course it was. I even asked your lame friends back in Kazakstan.”

“Baurzh—“

“Goodbye, Otabek,” Baurzhan called over his shoulder as he walked out. “I have a feeling that we will meet again soon.” Otabek pushed himself up, intending to run after him when Baurzhan stopped walking.

He turned around, looking amused. “Oh, and those men who beat up you and your boyfriend were hired by me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually going away tomorrow so I won't be able to post as frequently, but I will have a lot of time to write, so by the time I get back I'll have a lot of material to post.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter before I depart tomorrow, it is shorter but... Enjoy!

Victor practically forced Otabek to come back to the hotel with him after Otabek had told him about Baurzhan. Once Victor had told Yuuri, both Yuuri and Victor had agreed that he should tell the police.

“They wouldn’t believe me. I have no proof of any of this.” Otabek said. He crossed his arms. Otabek didn’t understand why Yuuri and Victor didn’t understand that the police couldn’t help him.

“They could put you in protective custody though and prevent him from—“

“Enough.” Otabek snapped. Yuuri shrank back. “I’m not telling them, and neither are you. Understand?” Victor and Yuuri nodded.

Victor broke the silence. “Otabek, I know these past few days have been hard but we’re your friends. We’re here for you, okay?” Victor gave him a cheesy smile.

“... Thanks Victor.”

oo0o0oo

Yuuri woke up at 5 am to the sound of his phone ringing. He wearily hauled himself out of bed and picked up his phone.

“Hello?” Yuuri spoke quietly as to not wake up Victor, who was still asleep.

“Yuuri!” Phichit’s voice came through the phone. “Have you seen the article?”

“What article?”

“The one about Otabek!”

“Huh? Didn’t you already show me that one?”

“Not that one! There’s a new one!” Phichit paused, his voice became serious. “It doesn’t look good Yuuri. Here, I’m sending the link over.”

Yuuri opened the link that Phichit texted.

**_“Witness Comes Forth with Shocking Claim that Otabek Altin Has Abused and Raped Yuri Plisetsky”_ **

_Drama rises within the skating world as a witness comes forth, claiming they witnessed Yuri Plisetsky being raped and then brutally stabbed by Altin. They have also claimed to have evidence of Altin abusing Plisetsky._

_The police could not be reached for comment._

oo0o0oo

Otabek knew that Victor and Yuuri were obviously displeased that he wasn’t going to the police with the information that Baurzhan had hired the men. Otabek knew that the police wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Otabek had no solid proof that Baurzhan had, no money trails or recordings or anything.

Otabek was currently sitting inside his room at the hotel. The visiting hours at the hospital had finished, as it was nearing the early hours in the morning, and he didn’t really feel like sleeping.

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He took it out, Yuuri was calling him.

Otabek threw his phone on the bed, ignoring Yuuri. Otabek didn’t feel like talking to anybody right now. Right now, he needed to be alone. Otabek drew solace from his solitary life. He used to hate being around others and found it draining.

That was, until he had met Yuri.

Yuri... He had changed Otabek, and Otabek had changed Yuri.

Not that Yuri would ever admit to it, but he had grown softer over time. His words, even though they were still as pointed as a knife, no longer had the same edge to them they used to have. Victor and Yuuri had probably also noticed, but haven’t commented on it.

Loud knocking interrupted his thoughts.

“Otabek Altin!” Otabek recognized Detective Finche’s voice from before. “It’s Detective Finche. Open up.”

Otabek opened the door. Detective Linda was standing next to him. Both detectives had a sour look on their face. They pushed their way inside and looked around. Otabek closed the door.

“How can I help you detectives?” He asked. Detective Finche scrunched up his face, looking him up and down. Finche circled him. Otabek shifted uncomfortably.

“Turn around and face the wall, hands on your head.” Detective Finche ordered.

“What—“  
“Don’t test me Altin.” Finche stood behind him now. Otabek could feel the muzzle of a gun pressing into his back. Otabek complied, turning to face the wall. Detective Finche roughly pinned him against the wall and handcuffed him.

“Otabek Altin, you are under arrest for the sexual assault and domestic abuse of Yuri Plisetsky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few chapters will be interesting, to say the least.


	13. Chapter 13

Yuri woke up in a hospital.

A nurse towered over him, holding a clipboard. Words were coming out of her mouth, but Yuri couldn’t process what they were. Everything was still fuzzy around the edges.

It took more effort than he would like to admit to sit up. Once he sat up he opened his mouth to speak, and to his horror only a few croaks came out. Startled, he turned to the nurse. The nurse laughed and at his expression. Her mouth moved, so she must’ve said something, but Yuri still couldn’t understand it. She handed him some water and left the room. Yuri took the cup gratefully and drank.

His stomach growled. It had probably been a few days since he had eaten anything.

_What was the date?_

Yuri looked around, but there were no clocks, just a TV hooked on the wall. The remote was on the second bed next to his. There were slight creases and indentations on the bed, showing that somebody had sat there. Yuri wondered if he could even manage to stand up and reach it. If it was that hard to sit up, it would be even harder to stand up. Not to even mention what skating would be like.

Oh shit.

Skating.

Before he could even attempt to stand, the door opened.

“Yurio?” It was the other Yuuri. He poked his head inside. “Victor ... were awake.”

Yuri stared at him. He only caught half the words that other-Yuuri said.

“What?” He tried to say, except it sounded more like a dying frog. Yuri flushed red, embarrassed at his lack of ability to do anything.

“You’re awake.” Yuuri repeated. “How are you feeling?”

_Like shit._

“Like shit.” Yuri rasped.

Yuuri frowned. “I would think so. You were—“

“Yuri!” Victor barged in, shoving past Yuuri. Victor stumbled and pulled Yuri into a hug. Yuri stiffened. The hug verged on painful when Victor squeezed too tight. Yuri pushed him away.

“Ow...” Yuri rubbed his back, touching the bandages.

Victor jumped back. “I’m sorry Yurio!”

Yuri’s mouth twitched in annoyance. “That’s not my name.” He grumbled. Victor just smiled.

Yuri glanced at the doorway. “Where’s Otabek?” Victor and Yuuri looked at each other.

“Yuri—“ Victor started.

“Where. Is. He.” Yuri grit.

“He’s fine, Yuri.”

“Then why isn’t he here?”

“He’s—”

“Sleeping!” Victor interrupted Yuuri. Yuuri glanced at Victor. Yuri ground his teeth in frustration. They were obviously not telling the truth.

“Whatever.” He huffed. “Just pass me the remote.”

oo0o0oo

Otabek was annoyed for two reasons.

One, he was sitting in a holding cell in the police precinct in Russia after being falsely arrested under accusations that _he_ had raped, stabbed, _and_ beat Yuri. Two, Yuri apparently woke up the one time he literally could not be at the hospital.

It was quite the situation he was in. Otabek suspected that Baurzhan had planted a false “witness” to testify that they had seen him do those things. Hopefully now that Yuri was awake he could tell them the truth and then they could leave this behind them. Maybe even take a vacation to Japan or something.

“Altin.” Otabek looked up to see Finche standing in front of the holding cell. Finche unlocked the door and motioned for him to come out. Otabek walked out, his hands still in handcuffs. Finche led him into another room, but this time with a chair and table. His handcuffs were attached to the table. Facing the chair was a window, where he could dimly see his reflection. Finche exited, only to come back a few moments later with a file. Finche sat down in the chair opposite Otabek’s and opened the file.

“I didn’t do it.” Otabek said.

Finche chuckled. “That’s what they all say.”

“Detective. I would never hurt him. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Yuri.”

Finche sighed. He closed the file and leaned closer to Otabek. “Do you know how many abuse victims would claim that their abusers didn’t abuse them?” Otabek was silent. Finche smirked. He pat the file. “It says here that Yuri has a long hospital record of suspicious injuries and bruises.”

“He’s a skater. Injuries are more common than you think.” Otabek growled.

Finche raised an eyebrow. “Then why don’t you have the same record?”

“Because I’m from Kazakhstan.” Finche eyed him suspiciously, and wrote something down.

“We have a witness.” Finche said.

“They’re lying.”

“And why should we believe you?”

“Because I’m telling the truth and the witness is lying.”

Finche stared at him. “You’re talking in circles.”

Otabek sighed. “The ‘witness’ you claim to have is hired by a man who has a personal vendetta against me.”

Finche wrote this down. “And who is this man?”

Otabek paused before answering. “His name is Baurzhan.”

“Hm. How do you spell that?” Finche’s pen hovered.

Otabek groaned. “Never mind. But listen—“

“Do you realize how crazy you sound?” Finche laughed. “You’re proposing that some guy hired a witness to testify against you?”

“... Yes.”

Finche laughed again. “Alright. That’s all for now.” Finche stood up and left, leaving Otabek alone.

oo0o0oo

Yuri found out the truth about where Otabek was pretty quickly. It was the first headline that was on the news.

**_Otabek Altin Arrested for Rape and Abuse Allegations_ **

“Skater Otabek Altin from Kazakhstan has just been arrested for raping and abusing Yuri Plisetsky. A witness came forth yesterday claiming that they—“

Yuri turned off the TV.

_That’s bullshit._

“Bullshit.” Yuri said. Victor and Yuuri gulped.

“We meant to tell you—“ Yuuri started, but stopped when Yuri glared at him.

“What the fuck is happening?”  
Victor and Yuuri were silent.

“It’s a long story.” Yuuri said.

“I’ve got time.”

“There’s this guy—“ Yuuri began.

“Baurzhan.” Victor added.

“Who doesn’t like Otabek—“

“Because he blames him for ruining his skating career as a child.”

“And—“  
“One at a time.” Yuri barked.

Yuuri gulped and continued. “He hired the men who beat you up and now he probably started the rumor that Otabek abused and raped you.” Towards the end his words tumbled and fell on top of each other. Yuri was silent. He hadn’t thought to remember what had happened that night. It felt so long ago, even though it was probably just a few days ago. Yuri would be happy to just forget what happened...  
“Yuri.” Katsudon said, taking Yuri out of his thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, pig.” Yuri snapped. Yuuri and Victor simultaneously sighed. Someone knocked on the door. The nurse entered.

“Hello! It’s good to see you awake, Yuri.” She said. “I’m just going to check you for any issues, okay?” She started pulling out medical equipment. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Yuuri and Victor leave.

“When can I leave?” Yuri asked.

“If there’s no complications within the next 24 to 48 hours you should be free to go.” The nurse placed a stethoscope on his chest. It was cold. Yuri shivered.

“Open your mouth.” She ordered. Yuri complied. She shone a light and then shut his mouth. They went through all the standard procedures, until at the very end when she pulled out a white kit from underneath the bed.

“Okay, so this might not work because it’s been a few days, but—“

“What the fuck is that?” Yuri stared at the case. She had opened it, revealing a few swabs with colored labels.

The nurse’s tone softened. “It’s a rape kit, honey.” Yuri stiffened.

“No.” He said.  
The nurse looked at him sadly. “It’s best just to—“

“I said no.” Yuri repeated louder. The nurse frowned and closed the kit.

“I understand that it might be hard to accept, but—“

“Get the fuck out!” He yelled. The nurse huffed, but left him alone. Yuri lay back down on the bed. Tears blurred his vision as he silently cursed himself for being so weak.

_What the fuck is wrong with me?_

oo0o0oo

Detective Max Finche sat down next to the witness. He placed a hand on their back.

“Just tell us everything.”

The witness stared blankly ahead.

Max sighed. “Start with your name.”

He turned to Max. “My name is Simon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yuri wakes up at least, but Otabek is in trouble.... and do you remember Simon? *winks*


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your support and comments!

Otabek wasn’t sure how long it was before a woman wearing a crisp suit entered the room.

“Hello Otabek. My name is Alina and I’ll be your defense attorney.” She placed a briefcase on the table and opened it, pulling out a few pieces of paper.  
“Attorney?” Otabek repeated.

“Well, you are going to trial.” She said. “I would suspect you want an attorney.”

“What?”

Alina exhaled and spoke slowly as if Otabek was dumb. “Even though Plisetsky may not be pressing charges, Detective Finche has decided to take initiative and press charges anyways.”

“Isn’t it a little soon for a trial?”

“They’ve got two witnesses and a whole lot of evidence. They’re rushing it,” Alina explained. “And it isn’t looking good for you.”

“Two witnesses?” Otabek said. “I thought they only had one.”

“Well, another came in recently.” Alina slid a piece of paper and a pen across the table. “I managed to get a pretty good deal if you confess here. You won’t go away for life and you’ll have a good chance at parole.” Otabek scanned the paper, only understanding half of the words, as it was mostly formal court speak that he didn’t quite get. He slid the paper back towards Alina.

“I’m not signing it.” He said. “I’m not guilty.”

Alina sighed. “Fine.” She picked up the paper and put it away. “Even if you didn’t do it, there are _two_ witnesses and a truckload of evidence that Detective Finche managed to scrap together. It’ll be an uphill battle if you want to win.”

Otabek smiled halfheartedly. “I’m sure that you’re a fine lawyer for this case then.”

Alina rolled her eyes. She took out a pad of paper. “I need you to tell me your version of events. And don’t leave out anything.” Otabek was silent, thinking of where to start.

Alina impatiently tapped her pen against the table.

“Why don’t we start with what actually happened that night?” She said, clearly not wanting to waste any time. “Did you rape Yuri Plisetsky?”

“No.” Otabek said. She scribbled something down.

“Is that the truth?” She asked. Otabek growled.

“Of course.”

“Who did then?”

Otabek shrugged. “I don’t know their names, but if you showed me a picture I could probably place at least two of them.”

Alina paused writing and looked at him. “You didn’t get a good look?”

“No. I was a little busy being beaten up.”

She continued, “And what about these witnesses?”

“They’re lying. Probably hired by a man named Baurzhan who hates me for... Personal reasons.” Otabek stated.

“Probably?” She repeated.

“I don’t know for sure, but Baurzhan and I had met earlier and he said he was going to ‘ruin’ me.” Alina nodded and kept writing.

“Why does he hate you?”

“... He thinks I drove over him with a car.”

“And did you?”

“No.”

“Then who did?”

“Some friends of mine back in Kazakhstan. They were drunk and I lent them my car.”

“What is the importance of this accident?”

“The accident left him unable to skate again.”

Alina looked surprised. “He was a skater?”

Otabek nodded. “Better than I was at the time.” Alina fell silent, looking over what she had wrote. Then she stood up and quietly left the room. She came back with a folder. Alina opened it and placed it on the table, facing Otabek.

“Do you recognize this man?” She inquired.

Otabek looked at the photo. It was the same photo of Martin, the mercenary. He shook his head.

“He looks familiar though.” He admitted. Alina nodded and wrote more notes. “Why are you asking?”

“I suspect he might’ve been one of the men you claim this Baurzhan hired.” She said. “He was found with a rather long hunting knife in his pocket. It was clean, but the shape and length matched up with the wound on Plisetsky.”

“Wait.” Otabek grabbed the photo. “Victor. Victor Nikiforov. He would know. He was there. When this guy, Martin, stabbed Yuri. He would recognize him.”

“I’ll collect statements from them later. We’ll need your friends to testify if they were there at the time. What were their names?”

“Victor Nikiforov and Katsuki Yuuri.”

oo0o0oo

The nurse came out of the room looking extremely sour.

Victor grabbed her attention as she passed by. “Did Yuri say something?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. It’s all typical reactions for these types of patients.” She said and walked away. It took Victor a moment to understand what she meant by “these patients.” He was about to go check on Yuri when an official looking woman holding a briefcase entered the hospital. She looked around, spotted him, and then walked over to him.

“Victor Nikiforov?” She said.

“That’s me.” Victor extended a hand. “How can I help you?”

She shook his hand. “My name is Alina. I’m Otabek Altin’s defense attorney for the upcoming trial.”  
“Trial?” Victor exclaimed loudly. Alina glared at him. “Sorry...” He said, quieter.

“I just need a couple statements from you. Can we talk in private?”

“Sure. Come back to the hotel with us.” Victor turned around and beckoned Yuuri. “Yuuri! Come on.”

oo0o0oo

“What do you need to know?” Victor asked. Alina had a notepad open.

“You were there when the man stabbed Yuri?”

Victor nodded. “And it wasn’t Otabek!”

She wrote something down and continued. “Did you get a look at who did?”

“Yes.”

Alina held up a photo and pointed at it. “Was it him?”

Victor leaned closer to see. There was a bullet hole in the middle of their forehead, which was quite distracting, but the photo was clear enough that he could recognize them. “Yes.”

Alina smiled. “His name was Martin Pelov. He’s a mercenary who I think was hired by Baurzhan.”

Victor looked at her, surprised. “How do you know Baurzhan?”

Alina rolled her eyes. “Altin told me.”

“Oh. Right.”

Alina barged on. “I’ll need you to testify at court.” Victor nodded in agreement.  
“Okay.” He said. Alina turned to face Yuuri.

“You were with Altin at the time that Yuri Plisetsky was stabbed and raped?”

Yuuri winced. “Yes.”

“I’ll need you to testify too.” She put away her notepad. “That’ll be all for now.”

“Alina...” Victor said. “Do you think Otabek can win?”

Alina hesitated. “Maybe.” She said. “He has a chance.”

Victor smiled. “That’s all he needs.”

oo0o0oo

Alina’s next stop was back at the hospital. The last person she would talk too today would be Yuri Plisetsky, who was at the center of a rather large storm. She knocked on the door and didn’t wait for an answer before opening it. As she opened it, she saw Yuri jump and wipe something off his nose. He sniffled a little and sat up.

“Who are you?” He demanded.

“My name is Alina. I’m Otabek Altin’s defense attorney for the upcoming trial. I’m here to talk to you about what happened that night.”

Yuri snorted. “Of course. Why is there a trial if I’m not pressing charges?”

“The law enforcement can press charges if they want to.”

“They can do that?” He said.

“Yes. Now, about that night.” Alina held up the photo of Martin. “Do you recognize this man?”

Yuri squinted at the photo. Alina watched him carefully. His body stiffened, his back becoming ramrod straight.

“Yes...” He ground out the words with difficulty. “He’s the one that... That did this.”

“Great. Now all I need you to do is testify at court—“

“I’m not doing that.” Yuri interrupted her.

“What?” She said. If Yuri didn’t testify, they had a greater chance of losing. “Otabek is your friend, right? If you don’t testify, we could lose this case.” Yuri stubbornly looked away and crossed his arms.

“Look, I understand if you’re scared but—“

“I’m not fucking scared.” Yuri spat. “I don’t want to testify, and nothing you can say is going to change that, understand?” He glared at her, two cerulean eyes full of fire boring holes into her skull.

“... Fine” Alina stood up. “Good day, Plisetsky.” She exited the room, walking down the hallway. They could win this without him testifying, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hm. Yuri doesn't want to testify....  
> -I know nothing about how the Russian judiciary and police work, so forgive me if this is inaccurate. There will be a trial obviously so suspend your disbelief if all the court work is nonsense...


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about how Russian trials work, so I based it off the U.S. trials.

As the arraignment neared, Otabek found himself getting more nervous and nervous. At the arraignment they weren’t even going to present any evidence yet, just state what he was being accused of and set bail. Alina had told him that Yuri refused to testify, but that they could still win without him. It would be harder, but definitely possible. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

Otabek partially understood why Yuri didn’t want to testify. He had just woken up from being in a partial coma due to undergoing extreme trauma and stress. No doubt he had some lingering psychological issues, even if he didn’t want to show them. Otabek wished he could be there to support Yuri and tell Yuri that everyone else was there for him, but he was still stuck at the police precinct.

At least he would be released after the first hearing. Maybe then he could go see Yuri and talk him into testifying.

“Otabek!” Alina snapped her fingers in front of him. “Pay attention. It’s your life that’s at stake here.” Otabek sighed and brought himself back to the present.  
“The other lawyer, I know him. He’s particularly manipulative into make witnesses and people testifying say things that they didn’t mean to. Don’t let him twist your words.” Alina said, determined. Otabek nodded somberly.

“Are you ready?” She said.

“I guess.” Otabek replied nonchalantly.

“Good.” Alina said. “Have you heard what the media have been saying?”  
“No.” Otabek said. He’d been in the police precinct with no Internet since a few days ago.

“They’re calling it an ‘unwinnable case.’ Here, take a look.” Alina passed her phone to Otabek.

**_The Unwinnable Case: Can Defense Attorney Alina Matrodsky and Otabek Altin Pull It Off?_ **

_The odds have certainly stacked against these two, with two witnesses claiming to have seen the whole crime. Defense Attorney Alina and Altin prepare to face off with prosecutor Bates and Detective Finche._

“Is Bates the opposing lawyer?” Otabek handed her phone back to her.

“Yes.” Alina stood up and opened the door. Otabek stared at her. She motioned for him to stand up. “Come on, we haven’t got all day.” Otabek jiggled his handcuffs, reminding her that he was still cuffed there.

“Oh.” She said simply.

oo0o0oo

“Why don’t you want to testify, Yuri?” Victor part whined part asked. Yuri groaned. Both Katsudon and Victor had been here practically all day, asking him why he didn’t want to testify.

“I just don’t okay?” Yuri said stubbornly. “They’ll still win.”

“But _why_ don’t you want to?” Yuuri tugged on Yuri’s hospital gown’s sleeve. “Yurio....”

“Shut up pig. That’s not my name.”

Yuuri perked up. “I’ll never call you Yurio again if you tell us why you don’t want to testify.”

“Stop it.” Yuri grumbled. “I already told you.”  
“That’s not a real reason.” Victor interjected.

“Be quiet.”

“Is it because—“

“Where’s Yakov?” Yuri said suddenly. “What did you tell him?” Yuuri and Victor turned to each other. Neither said a word.

“What?” Yuri looked at them.

Victor rubbed the back of his head. “We... Ah... Haven’t told him anything.”

“Yet.” Yuuri added.

“Idiots...” Yuri mumbled. “Where is he?”

“Uh...” Victor and Yuuri looked blank.

oo0o0oo

Yakov turned out to still be at the hotel, even though most of the other skaters and coaches had departed to return to their homes. It also turned out that Otabek had partially told Yakov what had happened, which is why he wasn’t flipping out yet. According to Yakov, when Victor and Yuuri retrieved Yakov from the hotel, they apologized profusely for not telling him and even offered to make it up to him. Yuri would’ve liked to see that.

“When will you be able to skate again?” Yakov sat on the plastic chair next to Yuri’s bed. Yuri opened his mouth to answer when Victor beat him to it.

“The nurse said he shouldn’t do anything too strenuous for at least a month.” Yuri glared at him.

“I should be fine by next week.” He answered. Yakov mumbled something unintelligible.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Yuratchka.” Yakov said. Yakovs stared at Yuri; his hard eyes were unusually soft, expressing a feeling that has no words to describe. Yuri understood him, and nodded slightly. Yakov pat him reassuringly and stood to leave.

oo0o0oo

“Otabek Altin, you are being accused of the sexual assault, domestic abuse, and attempted homicide of Yuri Plisetsky. Do you understand these charges?” The judge stared down at him from the podium. Otabek felt very small in the huge room. The place where the jury would sit lined the wall and the judge’s stand towered above his seat. Otabek looked over to where the prosecutors sat. Finche blocked his view of the lawyer, who was currently sitting next to him.

“I do.” Otabek said.

The judge leaned back into his chair. “And how do you plead?”

“I plead not guilty, sir.” Otabek replied.

“Bail is set at 61 thousand rubles.” The judge declared.

“Let the preliminary hearing of Altin vs. Finche begin.” The judge slammed the gavel onto the desk and the sound rang throughout the room. “Prosecutors may present their evidence now.”

The lawyer stood up, and for the first time Otabek saw their face.

It was Baurzhan. The prosecuting lawyer was Baurzhan, and the only thing Otabek could think as:

_When did he get a degree in law?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 61 thousand rubles=about 1,000 US dollars  
> Baurzhan certainly has been busy.... Until next time!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Thanks for all your lovely replies... I'm back home so I'll be getting around to posting more frequently. Enjoy!

Otabek watched in horror as Baurzhan turned towards him and winked. Could Otabek’s life get any worse?

“We have two witnesses who saw Altin sexually assault and then stab Yuri Plisetsky.” Baurzhan looked at Otabek, and smiled deviously. “Along with hospital records that match up with typical domestic abuse cases, I would say that we have more than enough evidence to put him away. In fact, we may not even need a trial.”

“This case will go to trial.” The judge boomed, his gavel slamming back down on the desk. “My decision is made. The first hearing is set for tomorrow. The court is dismissed for today.” As Otabek walked out, Baurzhan blew him an air kiss.

oo0o0oo

The next twenty-four hours passed so quickly, Otabek wasn’t even sure what happened during them. It had been a blur of Alina brushing up on details, perfecting her opening statement, and Otabek being whisked from place to place. He hadn’t even had time to visit Yuri. Otabek hadn’t even seen him since last week almost.

_I hope he’s all right. I’m sure Victor and Yuuri will look after him._

Currently Alina and Otabek were standing in front of the court doors, the tall building looming over them, an impassible figure. “Are you ready?” She looked to him.

“I should be asking you that.”

Alina laughed softly and opened the doors.

“Defendant may now present their opening statement.” All eyes turned to Alina. She stood, her chair screeching as it slid back. The room was dead silent. Her heels clicked as she strode over to the jury panel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, Otabek Altin is a victim of wrongful accusation. Yes, they have two witnesses, but there is no hard proof. No fingerprints or weapon found that could prove that _he_ was the one who did it rather than some man who looks like him. The justice system should not be a system based on words that two people claim is true. How are we to tell if they are lying? We are just supposed to _trust_ , that two random people, who only _claim_ to have seen Altin commit these felonies, are telling the truth. Please, consider this as you make your decisions.” Alina bowed her head slightly and retreated back to her chair. The jury stirred slightly, murmurs erupting between them.

“Prosecutor may now present their opening statement.”

Baurzhan, or as he called himself Bates, stood. He straightened his suit, and began.

“What Alina is mistaken about, is that we _do_ have hard proof. We have two witnesses, who were at the scene of the crime. Here, at this courthouse, they will swear that they are telling the truth. What reason would they have to lie? We have hospital records, and multiple accounts reporting Altin’s short temper and his quick resort to violence. If you opened your eyes, you would see that the evidence is stacked against you, Alina. Don’t believe what you hear, believe what you see.” The jury rippled at his last comment. Baurzhan winked slyly at Otabek and slunk back to his seat. Otabek silently seethed in his seat.

“The defendant calls Victor Nikiforov to the stand.” Victor came out, standing tall. He stood at the podium, smiling at Otabek when he saw him. “Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth?”

“I do.” Victor said confidently.

Alina stood, crossing over to stand in front of the table Otabek was sat at. “Victor, you were also witness to when Plisetsky was stabbed, correct?”

“Correct.” Victor held up a finger. “But there was no one else there besides me, Yuri, and the man who stabbed him.” The room stirred, Otabek could hear people whispering behind him.

“Are you claiming that there were no other witnesses?”  
“Yes.” Victor said. Otabek looked over at the other side. Finche looked like he was going to blow a gasket. Baurzhan and Finche appeared to be consulting amongst themselves.

“Did you see the man who stabbed Yuri Plisetsky?”

“Yes.”

“Was it Otabek Altin?”

Victor didn’t hesitate before answering. “No.”

Alina held up a large headshot of Martin. “Was it this man?”

“Yes.”

Alina turned to face the jury, showing them the photo. “This is the man who did rape and almost fatally stab Yuri Plisetsky. His name is Martin Pelov, a known mercenary. He was found dead a week ago, with a hunting knife in his pocket. This hunting knife matches the wound created on Plisetsky’s back. You cannot deny that this is solid evidence proving that Altin did not stab or rape Plisetsky. Thank you, your honor.” Alina sat down.

Baurzhan stood and circled in front of the podium like a shark stalking its prey. “Victor, where did you find Yuri Plisetsky and supposedly this Martin?”

“In an abandoned building.” Victor answered easily. “The door was locked, but I busted it open.” Neither Baurzhan nor the judge commented on the fact that he had technically trespassed.

“Did you see anyone else there beside the three of you?”

“No.”

“Were there windows there?”

Victor looked thoughtful. “I think so?”

“Objection!” Alina stood. “He’s leading him, sir.”

“Silence, Alina.” The judge ordered.

“Could you see Yuri and the man from one of these windows?” Baurzhan had a mean light to his eyes. Victor fidgeted. Otabek knew where Baurzhan was going with this. Baurzhan was twisting his own statement against him. Victor was silent.

“Answer the question, Nikiforov.” The judge commanded.

“... Possibly.”  
“So you did not necessarily have to be in the building to witness it, correct?” Baurzhan smiled when Victor said nothing. He continued, “Therefore, it is possible that you simply did not see the other witnesses, correct?” Victor looked away.

“I’m finished.” Baurzhan strode back to his place. As Victor left the podium, he sent an apologetic look towards Otabek.

Alina leaned over and whispered in his ear, “This is how he manipulates people.”

“The prosecutor calls Simon Tchaikov to the stand.” The judge boomed. Otabek watched as a shrewd looking man emerged. His shoulders were hunched and he had large glasses nearly half the size of his face. But they weren’t large enough to obscure his face from Otabek.

_I recognize him._

_That man._

_He’s one of the men who beat me up._

“Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth?” The judge asked.

“Yes.” Simon said. His hands were shaking as he pushed his glasses further up his nose.

Baurzhan smiled politely as he approached Simon. “Simon, you were also witness to the rape and stabbing of Yuri Plisetsky?”

“Yes.”

“Did you see Victor Nikiforov there?”

Simon shook his head. Baurzhan looked pointedly at the jury.

“Tell us what you saw, Simon.”

“I-I... There was a man.” Simon fidgeted and pretended to look extremely nervous, but Otabek could tell his nerves were faux. “He had climbed on top of this young boy with pale blonde hair, and was... You know... And then... I saw him stab the boy with blonde hair through his back. I saw him as he ran out the back door after stabbing the boy.”

“The man who stabbed and raped the boy, did he look like this?” Baurzhan held up Alina’s photo of Martin Pelov.

Simon shook his head. “H-he had an undercut. Like his.” Simon pointed an accusing finger at Otabek’s head. All eyes swiveled towards him. Baurzhan just grinned and put the photo back on the table.

“He’s all yours, Alina.”

“Thank you, Bates.”

Before Alina stood, Otabek leaned over and said, “That man was one of the men who beat me up.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Interesting.” She whispered.

Alina tilted her head. “How come you didn’t call the police or enter the building, Simon?” Her voice was cold.

“I-I was scared!” Simon squeaked. “He had a knife. A really long knife.”

“But you said he ran out the back door. If he was gone, how come you didn’t—”

“Objection!” Baurzhan cut her off. “Harassment.”

“Alina.” The judge warned.

Alina huffed. “Simon, did you happen to see Otabek Altin being beat up?”

“What?” He said.

“Altin was beat up just around the corner right before Plisetsky was raped and stabbed. Were you also witness to this?” Alina questioned.

“N-no.” Simon stammered.

“Where were you?”

“Home. Alone.” He added quickly.

“Hm.” Alina circled. “Where is your home?”

“Uh...” Simon looked away.

Alina walked back over to their table. “I’m finished, your honor.”

“Court adjourned. We will resume within the hour.” The judge yelled, then waddled out of the courtroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics are thoughts, in care you're confused...


	17. Chapter 17

“Your arguments were very convincing.” Otabek commented.

“Thanks, but they need to be far more convincing for us to win. Bates is a master at manipulating people into proving his points.”

“Alina.” She looked at him. He motioned for her to come closer. “Bates is Baurzhan.” He whispered.

Alina leaped back. “What?!”

“I know.” Otabek said. “I was surprised too. I didn’t even know he had a degree in law.”

“This changes things.” She muttered. “Bates is a well known name here. He’s built himself a reputable career. It’ll be hard to convince any jury that he actually is named Baurzhan and is plotting to get revenge on you by sending you to prison.”

“We can do it, right?”

“Maybe.” She said. “Not all in the same trial of course. Focus on your prosecution first, then Baurzhan’s.”

oo0o0oo

“The defendant calls Katsuki Yuuri to the stand.” The judge shouted. From the back, Yuuri emerged, looking anxious and pale. He swallowed, and stepped onto the podium. “Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth?”

“I-I do.” Yuuri stuttered.

Alina stood. “Katsuki Yuuri, you were with Altin at the time of the sexual assault and attempted homicide of Yuri Plisetsky, correct?”

“Yes.” Yuuri said. “He came with me to the hospital.”

“Why did you go to the hospital?”

“Otabek had been beat up pretty badly by some guys.” Yuuri looked around nervously. “T-The same guys who...” He trailed off.

“Where were you before you met up with Altin?” She asked.

“I was with Victor, asleep in our hotel room.” Yuuri said. “Otabek had texted me asking for help, so we went and saw that he was injured. Otabek said that some guy had taken Yuri so Victor went to look for him and I took Otabek to the hospital.”

“Otabek was with you the whole time, yes?”

“Yes.” Yuuri said.  
“So it would be impossible for him to be in two places at once.” Alina stated. “Thank you, Yuuri.” Alina sat back down. Baurzhan stood, grinning like a shark.

“Yuuri Katsuki.” He crooned. “Are you friends with Otabek?”

“Objection! Relevance.” Alina shouted. Bates looked to the judge.

“Continue, Bates.” He said. Otabek growled. The judge obviously favored Bates over Alina.

“Are you friends with Otabek Altin?” Baurzhan repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Are you friends with Yuri Plisetsky?”

“... I guess?” Yuuri answered.

“Explain.”

“We’re kinda rivals, but—“

“Would you do anything for your... Friends?” Baurzhan said.

“... Yes?” Yuuri said cluelessly.

“So would it be safe to say, that if Otabek, your ‘friend,’ as you claim, asked you to help him with something _illegal_ you would help him?” Yuuri flushed red. Baurzhan smirked and continued. “What I’m trying to suggest, Yuuri, is that you and Victor helped Otabek Altin with the rape and attempted homicide of Yuri Plisetsky. You both came up with a plausible alibi to help cover him, and now directly lie in a courtroom for him. You must be _really_ good friends to do something like that for him.”

“I-I would never!” Yuuri exclaimed, obviously distressed. Yuuri buried his hands into his face. The room erupted into loud shouts. Alina stood up.

“This is outrageous!” She cried. “Judge.”

The judge banged his gavel; it was loud enough to be heard over the din. “Silence!” He roared. The room fell silent. “Are you done, Bates?” Otabek felt weird hearing Baurzhan’s fake name.

“Finished.” Baurzhan dismissed Yuuri. Otabek glared at him, he had no right to harass Yuuri like that.

“The prosecution calls Peter Tryto to the stand.” Another shy looking man came out only he didn’t have glasses like Simon. Otabek vaguely remembered seeing him somewhere. “Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth?”

“I do.” He said.

“Peter,” Baurzhan leaned against the podium. “What do you work as?”  
“I’m a reporter.” Peter said.

“You were outside the hospital a few days after Yuri and Otabek entered, right?”

“Yes, I was.”

Baurzhan shrugged. “Why?”

“I wanted to get a good story.” Peter answered.

“When Otabek Altin came out of the hospital, what happened?” Peter was silent. “Peter, it’s okay.” Baurzhan reassured him with faux concern.

“... He attacked me.” The jury gasped.

Baurzhan faced the jury. “Do you remember that headline? If you don’t, let me remind you. ‘ _Otabek Altin Attacks Reporter Outside of Hospital._ ’ Quick to anger and prone to resorting to violence, are you thinking what I’m thinking? That’s right. Textbook case abuser. Just look at his treatment of this poor reporter.”

Baurzhan cleared the floor as Alina stepped onto it. “Peter, please tell us exactly what Altin did.”

“He attacked me, I said—“

“Did he?” She gave him a sharp look.

Peter shifted. “I mean, he slammed me into the wall.”  
“But did he ever hit you?”

“No.” Peter confessed.

Alina turned towards the jury. “See, Altin was on edge that day. Yuri Plisetsky, his boyfriend, had just been stabbed and raped the day before. You should see why a mob of reporters poking their noses into their business might set him off. Even then though, Altin showed restraint and did not actually lay a finger on Peter. Is this the kind of man that would abuse his boyfriend?” The jury talked quietly amongst themselves.

“Thank you.” Alina said, signaling that she was finished. Peter left the podium, and it remained empty for a few minutes, allowing both sides to converse between themselves.

“Sorry for outing you guys like that.” Alina apologized. “I needed to make the point.”

Otabek waved her off. “It’s fine. It was bound to happen someday.”

Alina chuckled. “Bet you didn’t think it would happen like this.”

“Never.” Otabek said dully.

The headlines came out within the hour. Peter was the one who probably leaked it.

**_“Otabek Altin and Yuri Plisetsky Dating?!”_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter Otabek and Yuri finally reunite....


	18. Chapter 18

The court ended up being adjourned for the day after Peter testified. It was getting late and the jury members wanted to go home. Otabek yawned and stretched. He wondered if he was able to visit Yuri at this hour.

“Tomorrow, Altin.” Alina said. “Don’t be late.”

“Of course.” He said flatly. As Otabek exited the courthouse, both Victor and Yuuri greeted him. They ran up to him.

“I’m so sorry!” Victor shouted, throwing himself around Otabek.

“For what?” Otabek squirmed, the hug getting a little too tight for his taste.  
“Bates made us all look like villains.”

Otabek pushed Victor off him. “If anyone should he apologizing, it should be me. I’m the reason that you got dragged into this mess.”

“You should come with us to see Yuri!” Yuuri and Victor grabbed Otabek’s arms.

“Isn’t it a little late for that?”  
“I’m sure they won’t mind.”

oo0o0oo

The receptionist gave them a hard stare, but eventually caved to the joint force of Victor and Yuuri.

“You have _one hour._ ” She said.

“Thank you!” Victor exclaimed, excitedly dragging Otabek behind him. Victor practically kicked the door to Yuri’s room down. “Yurio! Look who we brought!”

“What the fuck—“

Yuri stopped short, staring at Otabek. Otabek stared back. Yuri was actually sitting up. And talking. He was okay. Physically, at least.

“Otabek.” Yuri said. He swiveled to face them.

“Yuri.” Otabek said. Otabek stepped into Yuri’s room. Behind him he head Victor and Yuuri close the door. Otabek swore he could hear them giggling.

“Where’ve you been?” Yuri tilted his head.

Otabek made a face. “I thought you knew.” Yuri laughed. _He actually laughed._ Otabek had missed him.

“I do. I was joking, Beka.” Otabek smiled at the nickname. It had been awhile since someone called him that.

“Are you okay?” Otabek asked.

“Yeah.” Yuri said. Otabek didn’t believe him, but he didn’t press further. Otabek wanted to ask him why he didn’t want to testify, but instead he said:

“When can you leave?”

“Tomorrow, they said.”

“Good.”

“Otabek.” Yuri said. “I heard you.”

Otabek frowned in confusion. “Heard me when?”

“When I was asleep. I heard your voice. You were talking to me.”

“Oh.” Otabek looked away, his cheeks tinting pink. “I didn’t think you would actually be able to hear me.”

“... You said you loved me.” Yuri stated, his voice flat. Otabek recognized what Yuri was doing. Yuri was waiting for Otabek to reject him or to accept him. It was him asking for acceptance.

“I did.” Otabek replied.

“Do you still?” Yuri looked at him, something vulnerable inside his eyes.

“Of course.” The “why wouldn’t I” went unsaid.

“Are you sure?” Yuri spat, his demeanor changing completely. “Even after all that happened. You still want me?”

“I do.” Otabek said. “And I always will, Yuri.”

“... I love you too, Beka.” Yuri whispered softly. Otabek smiled, warmth flooding his body. The amount of love he had for Yuri was insurmountable. There was no way he could possibly convey that to Yuri. No words to express it.

_Fuck it._

Otabek sat down on the bed next to Yuri.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked.

Yuri’s eyes widened. He didn’t say anything, but Otabek knew he said yes in his own way. They spoke their own language with each other, able to communicate in ways others couldn’t. Otabek leaned in, his mouth brushing against Yuri’s. Yuri’s lips were soft, and Otabek’s were worn. When they pulled apart they were flushed, red dusting both their cheeks. Soft golden light filtered through the window, as the sun began to set outside. Neither said a word as they sat quietly together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter this time... I'm not quite satisfied with the way the scene ends, but I like it well enough. Hoped you enjoyed it!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for not uploading sooner. I'm busier than I anticipated...

The next day as they were traveling to the courthouse, Otabek reflected on everything that had transpired the past few days. It was a whirlwind of events, from the attempt on Yuri’s life to the fact that Baurzhan had known that it was Otabek’s car that night, everything seemed overwhelming. There was seldom a quiet moment to think.

Last night with Yuri was nice. Otabek hoped that Yuri would be okay and that he wouldn’t shut them out, even if Yuri wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Yuri seemed more withdrawn than he usually is, even with the outburst. Otabek was prepared for this, as he can’t expect Yuri to go through something like that and come out unscathed. Otabek would be there for him, as long as he could.

“Otabek.” Alina tapped him on the shoulder. “We’re here.” Alina climbed out of the cab and waited for him to follow. Otabek stepped out of the cab, the cold air stinging him.

oo0o0oo

“Present the evidence.”

Baurzhan stepped forward, a coy smile tugging at his lips. Rather than smiling though, his mouth curled into a sneer. His disgust was evident as he spoke. “I present to you, Yuri Plisetsky’s hospital records.” Baurzhan flipped through the folder with a casual air about him, as one might flip through a magazine. “Two years ago, his hospital record was nothing to be suspicious of. A few broken bones, one case of pneumonia, some sprains... But.” Baurzhan snapped the filed closed and placed it back on the table. “After he met a certain Otabek Altin, his injuries became increasingly frequent.” Baurzhan looked pointedly towards Otabek. “I wonder why.”

“Can you specify what injuries make you suspicious?” Alina retaliated.

“Definitely.” Baurzhan clasped his hands together. “Over the past year Plisetsky has had numerous sprains, twists, and a few oddly placed bruises that he—according to a nurse—‘hurriedly covered up.’”

“That seems normal for a skater, no?” Alina said.

“Multiple reports of ‘falling down’ or ‘just being clumsy.’ Typical for someone undergoing abuse, no?” Baurzhan tilted his head, mocking Alina. Alina mumbled something and rose.

“Plisetsky has denied these allegations and has said—“

“Then why won’t he testify?”

The room was silent. Otabek stared at Alina, waiting for her to say something, but she said nothing. She looked away from Otabek, avoiding eye contact.

“See, I’m trying to prove that Yuri Plisetsky is a victim of sexual and physical assault. There are many possible reasons why he won’t testify, but I think the most obvious one is that he is scared.” Baurzhan paused, letting the room drink his words in. “He is scared, of saying the truth. Scared of what Altin might do to him if he does so. Scared of you, the jury and all of our observers, and what you might think of him.” Baurzhan bowed his head and sat, the only sound in the room being a faint scratching noise as he slid his chair back to sit.

oo0o0oo

Otabek and Alina sat in a comfortable silence outside the courtroom while the court took a break. Baurzhan’s words had obviously resonated with many of the jury members, as many of them were now giving Otabek dirty glares as they passed by.

“I’m sorry.” Alina said.

“For what?”

“For losing this case.”

“You don’t know that we’ve lost yet.”

“Look at them.” Alina gestured to the jury members who were idly standing around. “Do you really think that they will believe us over Bates?”

Otabek sighed. “Maybe.”

“We still have a fighting chance. You still have your testimony and Bates has his second witness. Maybe I can catch them on a slip up.” Alina flipped through her notepad. Otabek watched her as she read. He knew nothing of laws and how the court worked, but he hoped that Alina could catch the “witnesses” on a lie.

oo0o0oo

“The defendant calls Otabek Altin to the stand.”

Otabek stood at the podium rather than sitting by Alina. The room looked entirely different than from when he was sitting. He was facing the people who were watching as well as the jury. It felt like everyone was watching his every move. The pressure felt immense. Otabek surveyed the room. He spotted Yuuri and Victor. They smiled warmly at him. Victor raised his hands to wave but Yuuri grabbed him and stopped him before he could. Yuuri looked like he was berating Victor, but Otabek couldn’t hear what they were saying. Watching them calmed his nerves a little.

“Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth, the whole truth?” The judge boomed, his voice sounding even louder when Otabek was standing beside him.

His hands were shaking slightly as he answered. “I do.”

Alina smiled kindly as she stood. “Altin,” she said. “Tell us what happened that night.”

Otabek took a deep breath before he began. “Yuri and I were walking back to the hotel late at night and these three guys jumped out and starting attacking us.”

“Did you see their faces?”

“Only a couple.”

Alina held up a photo of Simon Tchaikov. “Do you recognize this man?”

“Yes.” Otabek answered loudly. “I do. He’s one of the men who attacked me.”

“Altin, do you know the prosecuting lawyer?”

“I do.” Otabek shot a look at Baurzhan. “His real name is Baurzhan.” The room erupted into shouts, but Otabek kept talking above the noise. “He was a skater like me in Kazakhstan when he was younger but he got into a car accident and blames me ever since. This whole case is just his revenge against me.”

Various shouts of outrage were heard across the room.

“What a liar!” One shouted. Several people were standing. The judge looked down at Otabek, his face bright red. He leaned closer to Otabek’s head.

“How dare you come here, you _foreigner_ and start slandering _my_ lawyer.” The judge growled. His breath was hot. The judge leaned back, and slammed the gavel several times, silencing the room.

“I will have order!” He barked. “Continue.” He said, but in an undertone warned Otabek of repercussions should he do so.

Otabek swallowed. There was no turning back. He had to continue. “Baurzhan, or Bates as you know him, hired the men who beat me up and raped Yuri Plisetsky. He has carefully controlled this whole event; every word that came out of Simon Tchaikov’s mouth is a lie.”

The room was dead silent. Everyone was staring at him, even the judge. The only sound Otabek could hear was the sound of his own breath.

“I have no more to say.” Otabek said. Alina nodded.

The judge cleared his throat and spoke. “Prosecutor may proceed with cross-examination.”

Baurzhan walked forward, each step he took carefully enunciated by sharp clicks. He looked up at Otabek, and smiled.

“That was quite the claim there, _Altin_.” Baurzhan said. “And I’m sure everyone wants to know what I have to say about these claims. But let’s not talk of that. How about, we talk about the actual case at hand? Altin—“

Baurzhan stopped talking as a loud creaking sound was heard. Everyone swiveled to see what was making the sound. The court door was opening quite slowly and loudly. Whoever was pushing them eventually gave up, and let the doors start to close (not stopping the sound though). Otabek almost wanted to laugh at the look on Baurzhan’s face.

“Anyways.” Baurzhan turned back to Otabek, when the doors suddenly crashed open like they were kicked in; they swung open as someone walked in.

“Am I interrupting?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Talk to me on Tumblr @prisuner


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo

In hindsight, kicking down the door to an in session courtroom was not one of Yuri’s finer ideas.

Today was the day that he was finally being released from the hospital, and even though they told him that he was strictly not allowed to do anything “active,” Yuri still wanted to _something_ other than just sit around.

Naturally, he also wanted to see Otabek, who just happened to be at the center of a very large court case that made the headlines almost every day. Yuri had a good idea of what was happening based on news articles he’s been reading online. It wasn’t pretty.

Otabek had been under fire for almost everything he’s done for the past year or so. This “Bates” lawyer-guy bringing up old events that have no relation to the supposed “case.” It made Yuri want to kick something.

He made his way to the courthouse after stopping by to see Yakov, who told him to take a break _again._

Yuri had never been to the Russian courthouse. He was tempted to take a selfie and post it just to see how his fans would react, but he didn’t want to the courthouse to be swarmed by his fangirls.

Their reaction to this whole situation had been... Milder than what Yuri had expected. It did involve a lot of screaming and crying and reaction videos, but they otherwise seemed to stay out of it (which was interesting for a group dedicated to knowing everything about his life).

It was busy in the courthouse. It was full of lawyers in freshly pressed suits holding briefcases stuffed with papers. He grabbed one by the arm and asked them:

“Where’s the trial for Otabek Altin taking place?”

They yanked their arm away from him. Rather than answering, they scowled and hurried on their way. Yuri huffed and looked around. There couldn’t be _that_ many courtrooms.

oo0o0oo

It turned out there was only one courtroom in the whole building. Yuri thought that was weird because it was a pretty huge building for just _one_ courtroom. Nonetheless, Yuri had found it with ease (it was on the second floor) and now was stood outside its doors. The doors were closed.

Yuri placed his hands against the wood and pushed.

The doors didn’t budge.

The hinges creaked and groaned as he kept pushing, but the doors barely moved. Yuri’s frustration grew when he discovered that the noise that they were making was not going to stop. He growled and backed away from the doors. They started to eek close. Rather than trying to push them open again, he delivered a well-placed and powerful kick to the middle of them.

They flew open, and Yuri stepped inside.

The whole courtroom was staring at him, waiting for something to happen. Instead of apologizing for interrupting a legal hearing, Yuri just said, “Am I interrupting?”

oo0o0oo

Honestly when it was Yuri who stepped inside the courtroom Otabek was anything but surprised. Maybe he was mildly concerned; maybe he was confused. He couldn’t name the emotion that he was feeling, but it felt like pride.

The judge looked like he was about to blow a gasket. His face was bright red. He grabbed the gavel as people began to chatter. He banged it twice.

“Silence!” He roared. The judge turned his gaze to Yuri, who stood defiantly, glaring back at him. “What, are you doing in this court?” The judge seethed.

Yuri shrugged and sat down in the front row, right behind Alina’s table. By some miracle, the judge let it go, turned back to Baurzhan.

“Proceed.” He mumbled.

“Altin, when Plisetsky was being raped, where were you?”

“I was being beat up by two guys.”  
“And where are these two guys?”

“One testified earlier, Simon Tchaikov, you called him.”

Baurzhan chuckled. “I see... But what reason would the jury have to believe you? You’ve accused me of so many far-fetched things, what reason do you have that would make them believe that you’re just not another crazy that needs to be put away?”

“Everything you’re saying is bullshit.” Yuri mumbled.

Baurzhan turned around so fast Otabek was afraid he would give himself whiplash.

“What did you say?” He said.

“Nothing.” Yuri said innocently.

Baurzhan narrowed his eyes, but said nothing else.

He turned back towards Otabek. “I have nothing more to say.”

oo0o0oo

“The prosecutor calls Alex Ivanov to the stand.”

Otabek shouldn’t have been surprised that the second “witness” they claimed to have was the other mercenary who beat Otabek. Otabek told Alina that this was the other man. She nodded.

“Alex, tell us what happened that night.”

“I live in the apartment above the alleyway where Otabek Altin and Yuri Plisetsky were... Hurt.” He said. “I was going to bed when I saw some movement, which was pretty strange as it was really late out, so I looked out my window and saw this guy dragging Plisetsky into a building.”

“Could you see what was happening inside the building?”  
“No.” Alex answered.

“Did you get a good look at who was taking Plisetsky?”

“No, but they had an undercut.”

“Thank you.” Baurzhan said.

Alina stood.

“Was there a window on this building?”

“A window?” Alex repeated. “I don’t see what—“

“Just answer the question.”

Alex looked affronted. “No.” He said firmly.

“Is that correct? You say there were no windows, on that building.”

“Yes.” Alex repeated. “There were no windows on the building.

Alina turned to the court reporter. “Read me what Victor Nikiforov said about the building. About the windows.”

“Concerning windows, he said, ‘I think so.’ and then, ‘Possibly.’”

Alina turned to face the jury. “So if there were no windows, according to Mr. Ivanov here, then how could Simon Tchaikov be a direct witness?”

She turned back to Alex. “Did you see the man leaving the building afterwards?”

“Yes.”

“Where did he exit the building?”  
“What do you mean where?”

“Front, back, side, you know.”

“From the... The... Front.” Alex looked unsure. “From the front.” He repeated, gaining more confidence.

“You say he exited from the front?”

“Yes.” Alex said.

“Are you sure?”  
“Yes.”

Alina turned back to the court reporter. “Read me what Tchaikov said about the suspect exiting the building.”

There was silence as they turned a few pages. “Simon Tchaikov said, ‘I saw him as he ran out the back door after stabbing the boy.’”

Otabek could hear people whispering behind him.

“I thought so.” Alina faced Baurzhan with a smile. “I’m done here.”

The judge coughed. “Court adjourned momentarily. Resume within thirty minutes.”

oo0o0oo

Otabek did not see Yuri while they were on break. Otabek suspected that Yuri was being reprimanded by the judge for entering an in session courtroom, or that Yuri was yelling at the judge to let him testify.

Either way, the reporters watching had already caught wind of it, as the headlines now read:

**_Yuri Plisetsky Stands to Tell All: READ NOW_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean it was pretty obv who it was gonna be....


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel as if I don't say this often enough, but I'd like to thank everyone who is still reading this and who continually comment on my chapters. I always read them, even if I don't always reply, and I appreciate every one of them. You guys are so kind,,,, I just *clenches fist*.  
> *ahem*  
> Anyways...

“Do you swear to tell nothing but the truth?”  
“I do.” Yuri said.

The judge nodded to Alina. She stood.

“Please give us a detailed case of what happened that night.”

Yuri swallowed and glanced towards Otabek before starting. “Me and Otabek were walking back to the hotel late that night and we decided to take a short cut through this alleyway. This guy... Jumped out at us and began to beat Otabek with the help of a second guy.”

“And what were you doing?”

“A... A third guy was holding me back. He...” Yuri looked down. “He’s the one that...”

“That?” Alina coaxed gently. Yuri opened his mouth, but the words came out barely as a whisper. Otabek strained to hear them.

“Could you say that a little louder, please?”

“Raped me.” Yuri ground out, this time louder.

“This ‘third man’ was also the man who stabbed you, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Did he look like this?” Alina held up the photo of Martin Pelov.

“Yes.” Yuri shuddered. “That’s him.”

Alina turned away from Yuri. She glared at Baurzhan as she walked by. “Your witness, Bates.”

For once, Baurzhan looked speechless. He quickly composed himself as he rose. “You claim the man who raped and stabbed you was not Otabek Altin?”

“Of course it fucking wasn’t.” Yuri fumed, his anger returning in full stride.

“Has Altin ever mistreated you?”

“No.”

“Lied to you?”

“Probably.”

“Yelled at you?”

“We’re a couple.” Yuri glared at Baurzhan. “Have you ever been in a relationship, hardass?”

“Please refrain from name calling,” the judge said. Yuri snorted.

“Has he ever hit you?”

“What kind of fucking boyfriend do you think he is?”

Baurzhan pressed his lips together. “How would you define your relationship with the defendant?”

“He’s my boyfriend. Did you not hear it the first twenty times I said it?”

“Has he ever coerced you into doing something you didn’t want to do?”

“Yeah. He made me go to dinner once with all the other skaters when I really just wanted to stay home.”

Baurzhan huffed, but continued, seemingly determined to find something that would help his case.

“Have you had sex with the defendant?”

“None of your fucking business.”

“Has—“

Alina stood up, interrupting Baurzhan. “With all due respect, I believe the prosecutor has failed to prove any logical point with these pointless questions.”

Baurzhan held up his hands and walked away. “I’m done anyways.”

The judge nodded. “Defendant may now present their closing argument.”

Alina stood and walked over to the jury. “Ladies, gentlemen. I believe throughout the course of this trial you may have seen some... Confusing evidence presented by both Bates and I. This case is not as black and white as Bates would like it to be. I believe that there is something larger at play here, something that we did not account for.” Alina shot a glare at Bates. “I have given you more than enough to prove Otabek Altin’s innocence, including a testimony from the victim himself. So please,” Alina paused. “Please. I am asking for a verdict of not guilty.”

“Thank you,” Alina bowed her head and sat down.

Bates stood. “I believe that Alina is overthinking what is a very simple case. Here, we have a rapist, abuser, and literal back stabber.” One of the jurors snickered. “Our poor victim, Yuri Plisetsky, should be deemed an unreliable witness. Altin’s hold over Plisetsky must reach far, as his friends and then Plisetsky continue to deny the evidence supporting my case.” Baurzhan smiled. “Jurors, all I ask of you is to please consider the _facts_ of this case while making your decision. Thank you.” Baurzhan sat down.

The judge banged his gavel. “Court adjourned while the jury makes their decision. A conclusion will be reached once we resume.”

oo0o0oo

“Stand, Diane Rosa.” A middle-aged woman stood.

“Has the jury reached a conclusion?” The judge asked.

“Yes,” she said.

“Jurors, stand. Defendant, stand.” He said. Otabek’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood up slowly, aware that everyone was watching him. “Jurors, look upon the defendant.”

“Defendant, look upon the jury.” Otabek looked at the jury and studied their faces. It was a varied crowd, including women and men both young and old.

“How do you find Otabek Altin of the attempted murder of Yuri Plisetsky?” Otabek held his breath as the woman spoke.

“Not guilty.” She said decisively. The press began to murmur.

“And of the rape and domestic abuse of Yuri Plisetsky?”  
“Not guilty.”  
“It is decided then. Otabek Altin has been acquitted of all charges.” He banged the gavel once. “Court dismissed.”

oo0o0oo

The reporters leapt to their feet, everyone simultaneously asking questions. The room swelled with sound, cameras flashing. The press surged forward, each reporter as eager as the next to get the first statement. Several were shouting Otabek’s name for him to look at them. At once, several microphones were shoved into his face.

“Otabek, what do you have to say about this result?”

“I-I’m very happy that I will not be going to jail.” Otabek stammered.

“Otabek Altin! Over here!” One screamed. Otabek turned his gaze to where he thought the shout had come from and tried to look in the general direction of their camera.

Alina pushed past the sea of reporters, clearing a path for Otabek. “Just ignore them, “ she said. “They’ll ask more questions if you answer any.”

The mob of reporters followed them outside the courtroom and down the stairs. Otabek could hear cameras taking pictures of him at all times. It was quite annoying. However, at one point half of them left to go interview Baurzhan and Detective Finche, who were also leaving the courtroom. The constant bombardment of questions never ceased.

“Otabek, will you and Yuri Plisetsky stay together after this event?”

“How do you feel about what happened to Plisetsky?”

Every reporter was continually louder than the other, each trying to be heard over the dim.

“Will they go away?” Otabek asked Alina as they came outside and the reporters were still following them.

“Not until you’re in the car.” Alina replied. She opened the car door for Otabek. “After you.”

Otabek climbed in and Alina followed. She shut the door on the reporters. It felt oddly quiet after the noise.

“Congratulations.” Alina said, smiling. “We won.”

“We did.” Otabek said, still slightly in awe. “We did.”

oo0o0oo

Otabek returned to the hotel room at 3:39 PM. Even though it was midday, Otabek was exhausted. He sat down on the edge of the bed and took out his phone.

 

_1 New Text From: Yuri Plisetsky_

**_Yuri:_ ** _Congrats._

**_Otabek:_ ** _Thanks._

**_Yuri:_ ** _attached_image:img_itsurdoor.jpg_

**_Yuri:_ ** _Open ur door_

 

Otabek smiled and stood to open his door. The photo was a picture of Otabek’s door. Sure enough, Yuri was standing there, his phone in hand.

“Hi.” Yuri said. He pushed past Otabek into his room.

“Hello.” Otabek said, closing the door. Bemusedly, he said, “you could’ve just knocked.” Yuri threw him a look.

“Whatever.” Yuri said flippantly. He lay down on Otabek’s bed, and stretched out, similarly to what a cat might do. Yuri looked up at the ceiling. “Are you gonna go back to Kazakhstan?”

“Maybe.” Otabek replied. He moved to sit on the edge of the bed. “It’ll be a lot quieter there.”

Yuri rolled over onto his stomach and propped himself up on his arm. “You should come back to St. Petersburg with us.”

"Us?”  
“Victor’s bringing Katsudon.”

“Oh.”

For a moment, Otabek and Yuri sat in silence. It wasn’t an awkward, uncomfortable silence that one might experience when they’ve run out of things to talk about. It was simply the relaxed silence that one might find between two old friends, who already know what the other is thinking without saying it.

The silence was broken by the sound of Otabek’s phone buzzing. He reached over and grabbed it.

 

_495 390 1093: New Message_

_Meet me. Same place._

 

Otabek stood up and pulled away from Yuri, who looked confused.

“Where are you going?” Yuri asked.

“There’s something I have to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me @ otabek: hoe don't do it  
> \--  
> Talk to me on Tumblr @prisuner


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> been kinda busy with midterms, but i'm finally free to write more so.

The door to the church was open.

Otabek pushed it open wider and stepped inside. Baurzhan was already there.

“Bates.” Otabek greeted.

Baurzhan smiled. “You can call me Baurzhan, Otabek. After all, we are friends, right?” Baurzhan tilted his head, waiting for an answer.

“Sure.” Otabek replied. “If you say so.”

“You might’ve won the jury over, but don’t think that this is over, Altin.” Baurzhan warned.

“Why do you hate me so much?”  
Baurzhan frowned. “You know why.”  
“Say it.” Otabek urged. His hand reached into his pocket.

“You’re the reason I am like this, Altin. Ever since that night all those years ago...” Baurzhan shook himself. “That night ruined my career. My _life_.” Baurzhan clenched his fist, the knuckles turning white. He turned away from Otabek. “I planned on a less... Violent way of dealing with this but—“

Baurzhan turned back towards Otabek, a gun leveled at his head.

“Sometimes one must use necessary force when dealing with a _pest._ ”

Otabek threw his hands up. “Baurzhan, you don’t have to do this, I can—“

“Oh please,” Baurzhan spat. “Stop begging, you pathetic piece of—“

A voice crackled through a megaphone. “Bates—I mean, Baurzhan! You are under arrest! Put your hands on your head and place your weapon on the ground!”

Baurzhan snorted, looking amused. “I see you got the police here, Altin. Never took you for the type to lean on others.”

Detective Finche entered the Church, his partner Linda right behind him. They pointed their guns at Baurzhan.

“Put your hands on your head and place your weapon on the ground, Baurzhan.” Finche barked. “We have you surrounded.”

Baurzhan laughed cynically. “What, like that’s supposed to convince me _not_ to shoot him?” Baurzhan lowered the gun slightly, and then sighed.

“I’m going to jail either way, might as well deal with this while I’m still free.”

He raised the gun and fired.

oo0o0oo

**_One Hour Earlier_ **

Otabek walked into the police station and asked for Detective Finche. The secretary pointed out Finche’s “office” of sorts. As Otabek drew closer, he could hear Finche and Linda arguing.

Finche ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m not saying that—“  
“But you are! Don’t you see, you can’t just go around forcing trials onto some poor person! There is law and order, and that’s not the way things work—“

“That’s the way it works in the U.S., Linda. Not here.” Linda was quiet.

“Fine,” she spat.

Otabek chose this moment to make his presence noticed. He knocked on the door. The pair’s gaze snapped to him.

“Detective Finche,” Otabek greeted. “May I come in?”

“Sure.” Finche pulled out a chair and gestured for him to sit.

Otabek pulled out his phone. He showed Finche the texts and explained the whole situation in more detail than probably was necessary. Finche and Linda took it all in stride, not even looking surprised when Otabek showed them the new text that he received earlier.

Finche rubbed his eyes. “And you’re sure this is him?”

“Positive,” Otabek confirmed. “We had met once prior there, before the case went to court.”

“Where is this meeting location?”  
“It’s an abandoned church.”

“Ok, so here’s what we can do....”

oo0o0oo

Otabek’s back slammed onto the ground. Pain laced its way up his spine. He groaned, that was probably going to leave bruises. Otabek lifted his head in time to see Finche pin Baurzhan against the wall and handcuff him.

“Baurzhan, you are under arrest for conspiring to....”

Otabek let his head drop. They had accounted for the possibility that Baurzhan might shoot him. Finche had tightened the bulletproof vest a little tighter than Otabek thought was necessary, but it had worked and he wasn’t dead.

He was thankful for that much.

Otabek sat up, to be faced with a pair of legs blocking his view. He tilted his head up to see Yuri standing there, face blank.

“Hey,” Yuri said.

“Hello,” Otabek replied. Yuri extended a hand and helped Otabek stand. They watched as Baurzhan was carted off into a police car, presumably to be prosecuted and then put to jail. Detective Finche walked up to the pair and slapped Otabek’s back.

“I’m sorry for doubting you there, kid,” Finche sighed. “You did a good thing here.”

“It’s not your fault. You were just trying to do what’s right.”

“Yeah, well... “ Finche mumbled, walking back off to his partner.

Yuri turned to Otabek. “Are you gonna have to testify for that?”  
“Probably,” Otabek said. Yuri sighed in annoyance.

“Fuck...” Yuri groaned, and leaned his head onto Otabek’s shoulder.

“What is it?”

Yuri shrugged.

“You’re not the one testifying, you don’t even have to be there if you—“  
“No,” Yuri said. “I want to be there. I want to be there when we get to see his smug face behind fucking bars and then—“  
“Hey,” Otabek cut him off. Yuri stared at Otabek. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Yuri said. He stood upright and walked towards the church entrance. Yuri turned around to look at Otabek.

“You coming?”  
Otabek nodded, and followed Yuri outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is kinda like an end to a part 1 i guess, but i don't feel like putting "part 2" in another fic, so it'll just be here.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: This part deals with Yuri's trauma as a rape survivor. I luckily have no first hand knowledge of what it would to do a person and all reactions are based on research I did.

Otabek and Yuri sat on the steps to the courtyard. Baurzhan had been found guilty and was sentenced to twenty years in prison without chance of parole.

Yuri sneezed.                                                                 

“Bless you,” Otabek said.

“Thanks.” Yuri sniffled and wiped his nose with his sleeve.

Otabek frowned. “Are you sick?”

“No.”

Otabek reached out to touch Yuri’s forehead to see if he had a fever. Yuri recoiled from his hand.

“What are you doing?” Yuri asked, alarm seeping into his voice.

“I’m trying to take your temperature.”  
Yuri snorted. “With your hand?” He laughed. “I’m fine, Otabek.”

Otabek sighed.

oo0o0oo

“Come to Almaty with me.”

Yuri looked up from his suitcase.

“What?”  
“Come to Almaty with me,” Otabek repeated. “It’ll be quiet. And it’ll probably be good for you to get away from all this.”

Yuri blinked.

“Okay,” he said.

oo0o0oo

The flight to Almaty was uneventful. Yuri spent most of the time sleeping while Otabek read various articles on the Wi-Fi that he had purchased. When they arrived it was almost 6:00 PM. Otabek hailed a taxi and they went straight to Otabek’s home.

Otabek unlocked the door and held it open as Yuri walked inside his apartment. He shut the door behind them.

“Do you like it?” Otabek asked. It was the first time Yuri was seeing his place. Usually Otabek came over to St. Petersburg or they met at wherever the competition was taking place.

“Yeah,” Yuri said. He dumped his bag on the sofa and walked over to the windows. “Nice view.”

“Thanks.”

Yuri stared out the window at the city. Almaty sprawled beneath them, and in the distance mountains could be seen. Otabek could tell something was on Yuri’s mind, but he didn’t seem ready to talk about it.

Otabek cleared his throat, gaining Yuri’s attention. “I should show you around.”

“Right.” Yuri picked up his bag and followed Otabek past the kitchen and into the guest bedroom.

“Here’s the guest bedroom, and there’s—“

“We’re not sleeping together?”  
“If you want to, we can.”

Yuri opened his mouth, but then mashed his lips together. “This is fine,” he said.

“Ok.” Otabek stepped backwards. “The bathroom is to the right. My room is on the other side of the apartment. If you need anything, just come and get me.” Yuri nodded. Otabek closed the door behind him, letting Yuri unpack in privacy.

oo0o0oo

Yuri unpacked fairly quickly. He had packed light, only bringing a few pairs of clothes and his ice skates. Yuri stuffed his ice skates underneath the bed and his clothes into the drawer that sat at the end of the bed. There was a mirror in the corner and a window facing the street that Otabek lived on. Yuri walked over to the mirror and examined himself.

He hadn’t looked at himself in a mirror for a while. Yuri self-consciously ran a hand through his hair, now aware of how disheveled and tired he looked. The bags underneath his eyes weren’t too dark, but since he had pale skin it stood out like black on white. Yuri sighed.

_A shower would be nice. Otabek had said that the bathroom was to the right, right?_

Yuri closed the door softly behind him and looked both ways down the hallway. To his right was a door that presumable led to the bathroom, and to his left was the kitchen and dining room/living room area. Otabek was sitting on the sofa and reading some book. Yuri padded over to the bathroom and opened the door. He shut the door behind him and locked it.

Yuri always felt gross after coming off of an airplane (it was something about sitting in the same seat for hours and hours, and sharing the same recycled air with strangers), but he felt even more disgusting today (maybe it was because he could still _feel_ the man’s hands, roaming, roaming...).

Yuri shivered. He peeled off his clothes and chucked them onto the floor, stepping into the shower. Yuri turned the water on and dialed the temperature as far up as it could go. He hissed as the water scalded his skin. It burned, but it felt good. Yuri forced himself to stay underneath the boiling hot water as he lathered himself with soap. By the time he was done cleaning himself his skin was raw and bright pink. Yuri decided to turn the temperature down, lest he boil himself in the shower.

Yuri tilted his head forward, letting the water run down his back. The now not-boiling water felt good against his back, which was still sore. He noticed something red tinting the water. Was he bleeding?  
Yuri’s hands wandered over his body, searching for any possible cuts when—

Oh. Right.

He carefully slid a finger between his butt cheeks. He raised his hand back to eye level. There were flecks of dried blood on his finger. Disgusted, he cleaned his finger and scrubbed the flecks away using the washcloth. Once he was done the washcloth was stained red. Yuri stared at it for a few moments. If Otabek saw it, what would—

“Yuri!” Otabek yelled, interrupting his train of thought. “Dinner’s here!”

Yuri turned off the shower and threw the washcloth in the trash.

“I’m coming,” he yelled back, and exited the bathroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble writing Yuri's scene where he was in the shower, because for some reason writing butt cheeks made me uncomfortable.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. You might have noticed that it's now marked as complete. Here's the deal:  
> I have been extremely busy lately and (obviously) haven't had much time to write. When I did, I found myself lost at where to even begin. To be truthful, I had originally planned to end it at the scene in the church (end of Part 1), but I felt I needed to complete Yuri's arc with his psychological effects from his rape. This was, a more challenging part for me to write. I felt that I wasn't doing much justice to his character, thus I have shortened it into one chapter. I know it probably will feel a bit rushed, and I am truly sorry that I couldn't do it the justice that it deserved.  
> On another hand, I would like to thank all the people who have always left positive comments on each chapter. They always make me smile and make me happy that someone out there is enjoying my writing. Just to name some (in no particular order):  
> Sydelle  
> Whisks_on_ice  
> yvngp  
> A_Fangirl  
> NetflixAndPhil  
> Cece-  
> Damagineer314  
> Heiyuu  
> And many, many others. Thank you all for your positive comments and thank you for reading!

“I got you pasta.” Otabek placed a plate of spaghetti in front of Yuri.

“Thanks.”

Otabek sat down opposite Yuri, also with a plate of spaghetti. Yuri watched Otabek lift a forkful to his mouth, red sauce sliding off the noodles. Otabek looked up noticing Yuri staring at him. Otabek frowned, concern creasing his forehead.

“I’m fine,” Yuri shot.

“I didn’t say anything,” Otabek said.

Yuri pushed the pasta around on his plate. He twirled his fork between his fingers, the pasta flailing limply around it. He wasn’t that hungry, but he knew that if he didn’t eat that Otabek would worry. Hesitantly, he began to eat. They sat in silence, the only sound filling the room were the forks scraping against the plates.

Otabek stood up and walked over to the sink, rinsing off the remnants of the sauce.

“Are you done?” He asked. Yuri nodded. Otabek didn’t comment on the fact that he had only eaten half of it. Otabek took his plate and washed it.

“Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Sure.”

Otabek turned on the TV, flipping through channels. Yuri sat next to Otabek on the couch. Otabek’s arm was slung around the back of the couch, an open invitation for Yuri to curl up there like a cat. It would be so easy to, so easy to just—

No. Yuri shook himself. It would be best to keep away, maybe until Otabek either forgets what happened or moves on.

Yuri scooted farther away from Otabek and ignored the confused glances Otabek shot towards him.

oo0o0oo

The frustrating thing with Otabek was that he was patient. Almost _too_ patient. He had enough patience to outlast Yuri by a lifetime. It was okay before, but now it was almost infuriating. If Yuri wanted Otabek to leave him alone, he would leave him alone. If Yuri screamed at him he didn’t even flinch. He would let Yuri practically walk all over him without saying a word.

One day, Yuri snapped.

“Why won’t you say anything?”

“About what?”

“About...” Yuri gestured to the both of them. “This.”

Otabek tilted his head. “I don’t understand.”

Yuri groaned. “Of course.”

Otabek frowned and looked displeased, but said nothing further.

oo0o0oo

“Are you happy, Yuri?”

“What do you mean?”  
“Are you happy?”

Yuri shrugged and pretended to eat his food. When Otabek turned his back, he dumped the rest in the garbage. He wasn’t that hungry anyways.

oo0o0oo

Yuri spent the next day hiding in “his” room, avoiding Otabek so he wouldn’t have to answer the question.

oo0o0oo

“You’re worrying me, Yuri,” Otabek said.

“How so?”

“You’re not eating, sleeping, and you’re avoiding me.”

“How do you know?” Yuri shot back.

Otabek sighed. “I can hear you at night, Yuri.” He reached out to Yuri. “I’m just worried about you.”

Yuri recoiled. “Don’t be,” he spat. Yuri turned and all but ran out of the room.

oo0o0oo

Otabek knocked on Yuri’s door at 1 AM. Yuri rolled out of bed and yanked the door open with more force than necessary.

“What,” he growled.

“Do you want to come to my room?”  
Yuri narrowed his eyes. “Why?”

“It might help with the nightmares.”

Yuri sighed. “Fine.”

oo0o0oo

Yuri was choking, the man, he leered over him, impassible and—

“Yuri!”

Yuri was jolted out of his dream by Otabek shaking him.

“Yuri,” Otabek repeated. “... Are you okay?”

“... No,” Yuri admitted. He shivered. Otabek hovered near, not quite touching him, but not too far away. Otabek held out his arms, almost like he was going to hug him. Yuri gently pushed his arms down. Otabek looked disappointed, but didn’t comment. They sat together; the room drowned in silver moonlight.

“It’s okay,” Otabek said.

“What’s okay?”

“It’s okay to not be okay.”

Otabek held out his hand, palm up. It was an offering... An offering of what? Of love, of comfort, of warmth? Perhaps it is indescribable, a feeling that cannot be placed into words. It was the unspeakable truth that yearns to be heard, yet—

Yuri carefully placed his hand in Otabek’s. Otabek grasped Yuri’s hand firmly.

—a sign of trust was made, known only by the moon and the lights of the city below.

 

fin

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a comment/kudo if you enjoyed!


End file.
